Both championships are now settled, but that didn’t stop Interlagos from delivering yet another spectacular Grand Prix. With weather, strategy and race craft all in play, it's time to revisit who got it right and who got it wrong. Here are Living Sports’ winners and losers from São Paulo.
Norris’ faith in his wet-weather abilities was ultimately rewarded. McLaren brought a front-wing upgrade to Brazil and the former world champion wasted no time in making his presence felt. A commanding run to pole was allied to a mature drive on race day. After losing out to Kimi Antonelli off the start, Norris held his nerve, pounced as soon as Antonelli tripped up and was just as dominant in the wet as he was in the dry. What better way to respond to losing your crown than with one of the best drives of your career?
With both drivers incurring grid penalties for new engine components, this weekend was always going to be an exercise in damage limitation for Ferrari. Even so, the Scuderia failed to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the rain. A drying track undid Lewis Hamilton's astonishing first-lap surge, and while his pace on the softs was exemplary, a late-race shower and a costly spin relegated him to ninth. Charles Leclerc spent much of the race on the missing list, and while he was able to stop once less than his teammate thanks to a long middle stint on the softs, seventh was all he could manage before receiving a post-race penalty for contact with Liam Lawson. A poor performance that marks the end of Ferrari’s flickering title aspirations.
For the third year running, Max Verstappen has produced a Brazilian masterclass. Starting from the back of the grid due to fresh engine components, Verstappen was peerless in the wet. The four-time world champion made up 16 places in the opening five laps and, despite rear downforce issues, made further progress in the dry. With Norris in a class of one, second place was the best Verstappen could have hoped for. A result made all the more impressive by his lowly starting position.
Harsh? Perhaps. Particularly given the fact that Mercedes sealed the constructors’ title this weekend and have been virtually guaranteed to do so for months. But this marks the first time this season that neither Mercedes made the podium and had Ferrari not had such a diabolical race, the Silver Arrows could have been forced to keep the champagne on ice until the next race in Las Vegas. A spin on lap 20 marred Antonelli’s race as he began struggling with handling and vibration issues. A late burst of pace from his teammate forced Antonelli to move aside and settle for fifth. A lacklustre result that, nevertheless, got the job done.
Starting a career-best third (due in part to grid penalties for many of the established front runners), Lawson was never realistically going to hold on to that in the race. Not that that stopped the Racing Bulls driver from producing yet another fine display. After leaping up to second off the line and gradually losing out to the likes of Verstappen, Norris and Russell, Lawson stayed out of trouble and consolidated seventh. That was until the closing stages, when he came under serious pressure from Charles Leclerc, who briefly touched Lawson’s left-rear tyre on the penultimate lap shortly before passing him. A post-race penalty for Leclerc elevated Lawson to seventh, a fine display in treacherous conditions.
On paper, this was a decent display as Russell made up three places from his penalty-induced starting place and helped secure the constructors’ title with three rounds to spare. However, the prevailing memory most will have of Russell in this race is that of him spinning in the pit lane, an error that cost him any chance of fighting for the podium and fully capitalising on his teammate’s woes. With just three races left, Russell is running out of time to salvage some pride from what has been a disappointing season.
He may have disapproved of having to let Verstappen by, but Isack Hadjar put in one of his best performances of the year in Brazil. Hadjar’s pace in the dry was enough to keep pace with his teammate and the Red Bull driver survived his fair share of nervous moments in the wet to secure his third podium of the season. One that has reinforced his status as an asset to Red Bull.
For a man already fighting to keep his seat, failing to make the start due to a faulty wheel nut (something he unfortunately has prior experience with) was about the worst conclusion to the weekend. With Cadillac clearly preparing Formula 2 driver Colton Herta for a future race seat, Bottas is running out of time to make his case.
