Brazilian Grand Prix weekends are known for providing a lot of excitement, and this one was no different. From Friday’s sprint qualifying, fans were treated to a little bit of everything. Crashes, unexpected eliminations, amazing recoveries, the three days at Interlagos had it all. What’s more, with just three rounds to go, the final score could have a huge impact on the World Drivers’ Championship standings. Who impressed and who couldn’t quite live up to the expectations.
On the surface, the weekend of the Brazilian Grand Prix belonged entirely to Lando Norris. He took the sprint pole and went on to cross the finish line first during the sprint itself. He didn’t dominate the field, with Kimi Antonelli threatening him in the last few laps, but ultimately held onto the lead. Aside from the eight points, it also gave him the confidence he needed to excel in the remaining events.
Although there were a few other drivers who seemed to have what it would take to qualify on pole, it was Norris who managed the quickest time of all. For the second time during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, he lined up at the very front of the grid. Despite his claims that his McLaren wasn’t as fast as he’d hoped, the race didn’t present many issues for the Brit. He stayed in the net lead throughout the whole event and won by a respectable margin. The victory added 25 more points to his tally, solidifying his position at the top of the WDC standings.
Norris wasn’t the real start of the Brazilian Grand Prix; that title belonged to the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen. The sprint wasn’t of much note to the Dutchman, as he qualified sixth and finished fourth. The race of the weekend was a different story.
It seemed like Verstappen’s weekend was over when he was eliminated in Q1. With no rain predicted for Sunday’s race, no one expected him to perform a miracle akin to the one he managed the year before, especially since he decided to make changes that led to him starting from the pit lane. Then, the impossible happened. Place after place, Verstappen climbed up the order, moving all the way to a podium-scoring position. Towards the end of the race, he even threatened Antonelli’s P2 finish. Although many people had counted him out of the fight before the Brazilian Grand Prix could begin, he forced himself back into the narrative, once again proving why he is regarded as one of the greats.
The P2, combined with his sprint result, added 23 points to his name. Although it wasn’t enough to help his championship charge, not with Norris outscoring him, it did put him closer to the man currently second in the standings. If there is one thing that the weekend reminded fans of, it’s that Verstappen, no matter what his situation is, should never be counted out.
Then there is Oscar Piastri. The Australian started the season incredibly strong, but his performance nosedived toward the end of the season. The Brazilian Grand Prix continued on that trend, seeing him lose out to both his championship rivals.
He did well enough in the sprint qualifying, despite not being able to beat his teammate. The real issues began in the sprint itself. Desperate to improve, he was pushing hard and, on lap six, paid the ultimate price for it. He wasn’t careful enough on the slippery track and ended up in the wall, bringing out a safety car and taking himself out of contention.
The Grand Prix was supposed to be his redemption. Once again, he qualified behind his teammate, but stayed close enough to have a realistic chance at fighting for the lead. He did well enough throughout the first lap, after which the race was neutralised due to Gabriel Bortoleto’s unfortunate DNF. Upon restart, he began attacking Antonelli for P2. The move he tried to pull on the Italian was far from the cleanest and ended up with a domino effect that took Charles Leclerc, a man driving next to the two of them, out of the race.
Piastri received a ten-second penalty for causing the incident, and it ended up completely destroying his chances of a satisfactory finish. Having served it during his first stop, he fell out of the top three. His final position was a disappointing P5, which only gave him ten points. This meant that over the course of the weekend, he had lost 23 points to Norris and 13 to Verstappen.
The WDC standings didn’t change after the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend. Norris is still in the lead, followed by his McLaren teammate and the reigning champion. Despite that, the race had huge implications on the fight for the trophy. After Mexico, only one point separated the two papaya drivers, and in Brazil, the gap increased to 24. This puts the Brit in a very comfortable position heading into the last three races. If he can keep his good performance, he will outscore Piastri without much trouble.
Of course, this sounds almost exactly like what people had been saying about the Australian only a few weeks ago. The tides in Formula One turn quickly, and now both McLaren drivers need to be extremely careful not to get swept up in them.
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