Max Verstappen mounted an incredible recovery drive from down in 17th place on the grid to emerge triumphant in an action-packed Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Verstappen led home the two Alpine drivers in a shock second and third to take Red Bull’s first win since June and extend his points lead as Lando Norris ended sixth.
Alex Albon was ruled out as the damage to his Williams from his qualifying shunt was too severe to repair, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was resigned to a pit lane start.
The conditions were still too damp to gamble on slicks despite the sun starting to creep through before the start, ensuring that it was Intermediates across the board.
That was clearcut on the formation lap as Lance Stroll, who crashed out earlier, locked his rears on the run down to Turn 4 and beached his Aston Martin in the gravel.
With the Canadian’s AMR24 still stranded, the FIA announced that there would be an aborted start. But against protocol, Norris decided to head the pack back around.
Norris’ misdemeanour prompted mass bewilderment down on the grid as several drivers were reluctant to move, and the stewards noted the McLaren driver’s actions.
The impending investigation was still to be resolved as the next formation lap started, and that could’ve had an impact on Norris as he lost the lead to George Russell.
Behind the top two, Yuki Tsunoda squeezed out Alpine’s Esteban Ocon to retain third place, while Liam Lawson in the sister RB car lost out to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Fernando Alonso was determined to make up ground and he launched a bold lunge down Oscar Piastri’s inside into Turn 4, but the Australian held onto seventh place.
Verstappen was on a charge as he made up six spots on the opening tour to 11th place, but team-mate Sergio Perez went into a spin which dropped him down to last.
Lewis Hamilton’s nightmare weekend continued as Verstappen out-braked him on the inside into Turn 1 on Lap 2 to elevate the Dutchman up into the points positions.
Oliver Bearman got involved in a clash with Franco Colapinto’s Williams which slipped the stand-in Haas racer in the order and also saw him land a 10-second penalty.
Verstappen then took Pierre Gasly’s Alpine and Fernando Alonso on consecutive laps to be running in eighth come the sixth lap, posting the fastest lap in the process.
Meanwhile, Norris was now on terms with Russell and was piling the pressure on his compatriot, with Tsunoda in third allowing the leading duo to escape up the road.
Verstappen had tremendous confidence on the brakes and he showed that going into Turn 1 on Lap 10 as he dived on Piastri’s inside to gain another place to seventh.
Lawson opened the door at Turn 8 in the second sector and Verstappen accepted the invitation to secure sixth place behind Leclerc, who was struggling behind Ocon.
Hamilton endured a wide moment at Juncao which made him vulnerable when he recovered to Colapinto, who completed an excellent move in the Senna S on Lap 12.
Verstappen had attached his Red Bull onto the pack that Tsunoda was leading in third place, which prompted his advances to be halted as he trailed in Leclerc’s wake.
Hamilton committed another mistake into Juncao as he locked up and went wide on the exit, allowing Sainz’s Ferrari and Bearman’s Haas to move up one place each.
Verstappen was in a position to challenge Leclerc as the two headed onto Lap 22, but the Monegasque parked his Ferrari on the inside at Turn 1 to preserve the place.
Sainz was the next driver to lock up, this time at Turn 4, and that saw the Spaniard relinquish the spot that he had gained on Hamilton, slipping him back to 15th place.
Ferrari decided to haul Leclerc in to conduct a pit stop on Lap 24, switching him over to more Intermediates. He returned to the circuit outside the points in 13th place.
Piastri punted Lawson into a spin at Turn 1 which lost him three places to ninth, while Norris increased the pressure on Russell as the weather conditions deteriorated.
Nico Hulkenberg spun out in the opening sector to prompt a Virtual Safety Car on Lap 28 which several sides capitalised on to pit their drivers onto new Intermediates.
Before that intervention, Ocon had managed to pass Tsunoda, who came into the pits along with Norris and Russell right as the race returned to green flag conditions.
Alpine opted to keep both drivers out on the track and that put Ocon in the lead and Gasly in third spot, with Verstappen in the Red Bull splitting the team’s two drivers.
Russell was tentative amid the heavier rain and that enabled Norris to storm past under braking towards Turn 4 to get past the Mercedes driver at long last on Lap 30.
That was the last action to occur as the Safety Car was called, which became a stoppage as Colapinto lost control up the hill and shunted his Williams into the barrier.
Hulkenberg had continued despite his earlier spin, but the stewards stated during the red flag that the German driver was disqualified for receiving outside assistance.
A 20-minute period passed until the drivers went back out onto the track behind the Safety Car in preparation to conduct a rolling start with Ocon heading Verstappen.
Norris was sizing up Gasly at Turn 4 on the restart but he went wide, giving Russell the chance to pull alongside and sweep around the McLaren’s outside at Ferradura.
Meanwhile, Leclerc also headed wide behind those two, but the Ferrari driver escaped without losing a position as Piastri in the second McLaren wasn’t close enough.
Hamilton was beginning to make progress up the order as he displaced Alonso’s Aston Martin into Turn 1 on Lap 35, putting the Mercedes ninth behind Tsunoda’s RB.
Bearman’s active showing made another downward turn as he spun at Ferradura and went straight on into the barrier on Lap 35. He then trailed wide again at Juncao.
Sainz was the next individual to retire as his Ferrari braking on the white line going into Turn 8 put him into a spin which led him to race-ending contact with the barrier.
That incident brought the Safety Car back into the frame on Lap 40, which lasted two laps when it retreated to allow Ocon to lead the remaining drivers back to racing.
Verstappen was bold on the brakes on the restart to dive up Ocon’s inside at Turn 1 to log the lead, while championship rival Norris lost three places to slip to seventh.
Norris was caught out when Russell slammed on the brakes as Leclerc slotted down his inside, prompting the McLaren to take avoiding action down the escape road.
Alonso surrendered his position in the points as he went off at Juncao. Leclerc was next to make a mistake as a wide lapse at Turn 4 enabled Russell to regain fourth.
McLaren instructed Piastri to give up sixth to Norris and the Australian complied with that call to give his team-mate the chance to attack Leclerc, who was struggling.
Verstappen was now eight seconds clear in the lead as team-mate Perez was in 10th place and coming up short with his attempt to overtake RB’s Lawson on Lap 55.
Perez experiencing a moment as he exited Turn 4 allowed Hamilton to squeeze back up his inside, dropping the Mexican to outside the points positions in 11th place.
The Red Bull tried his desperate best to retrieve the place on Hamilton to rescue a point on the penultimate lap, but the Briton was wise to his rival’s attempt at Turn 1.
Verstappen’s brilliance in the wet shone through once again at Interlagos as he coasted home to book his return to the top step of the podium with a marvellous drive.
Ocon, who led several laps earlier in the race, was 19s back in second place as Gasly came home in third to give Alpine a double podium and a massive 33-point haul.
Russell propped up fourth in his Mercedes, with Leclerc beating Norris and Piastri, whose outstanding 10-second time penalty meant he lost a place to Tsunoda’s RB.
Lawson was ninth, but that was not enough to stop RB from losing a place to Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship. Hamilton edged Perez to claim the final point.
