Brazillian Grand Prix: Weekend Recap

Free Practice

In an action-packed free practice session at Interlagos for the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, Lando Norris clocked the fastest lap, leading a British top-three lockout with George Russell and Oliver Bearman following close behind. The session was marked by strategic tire usage, new track surface challenges, and an unexpected finishing order as key drivers struggled to keep up with the leaders.

The session began with Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas leading the charge onto the track. As drivers familiarized themselves with the newly repaved Interlagos circuit, Pierre Gasly’s Alpine notably carved deep marks into the asphalt due to its low setup. Most drivers initially ran on medium tires, while Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez opted for softs, setting the stage for a strategic tire showdown.

Oscar Piastri opened the session with a competitive 1m13.200s, but the times quickly dropped as Verstappen, Russell, and Perez each briefly held the top spot. Perez led momentarily with a 1m12.099s, before Russell and Verstappen pushed the benchmark down further, with Verstappen clocking a 1m11.712s lap.

After a short lull for setup adjustments, Hamilton climbed the standings to reach second with his first timed lap on mediums. Russell was the first to switch to soft tires, setting an impressive 1m10.791s. His time held as the quickest for much of the session, with other front-runners hesitating to make the same switch.

With just 10 minutes remaining, most drivers switched to softs, sparking intense competition. Franco Colapinto made a surprising move into second but was soon surpassed by Bearman, Albon, Lawson, and Piastri. Bearman’s impressive third-place finish was especially notable, as he was just 0.014s slower than Russell.

Verstappen appeared poised to challenge Russell's time, going quickest in the first sector, but ultimately lost time in sector two and aborted his lap. This left him in an uncharacteristic 15th place, his fastest time coming from his medium tire stint. Perez fared even worse, finishing 19th with limited gains from his new chassis.

With just a minute left on the clock, Lando Norris set the fastest lap of the session, clocking a 1m10.610s. Despite an imperfect final sector, Norris’s lap secured him the top spot, edging out Russell and Bearman to complete a British top-three.

Following the British trio, Piastri, Albon, and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top six, with Leclerc making a late improvement on his second run with the same set of softs. Carlos Sainz finished seventh, followed by Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, and Pierre Gasly. Hamilton, who chose not to switch to soft tires, ended up 16th as several drivers commented on the severe bumps on the new track surface.

The session highlighted the challenges posed by the new track surface and left key drivers, including Verstappen and Perez, with considerable ground to make up heading into the weekend. As the weekend unfolds, it remains to be seen whether these early frontrunners can maintain their advantage or if Red Bull and Mercedes will mount a comeback on race day.

Sprint Qualifying

The 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix sprint qualifying session saw McLaren’s Oscar Piastri take the top spot, narrowly beating his teammate Lando Norris. With Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen following closely behind, the qualifying round was filled with strategic decisions, unexpected eliminations, and a changing weather forecast.

SQ1

Sprint qualifying opened with SQ1, where Lando Norris immediately set the tone by clocking the fastest time. McLaren looked strong from the start, and Norris’s pace signaled that he and his teammate Piastri would be serious contenders. As the session drew to a close, Franco Colapinto made a last-ditch improvement, knocking Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso out of contention. Alonso, who had previously pulled himself out of the drop zone with a strong second lap on medium tires, ultimately joined Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, and Zhou Guanyu in the first group of eliminations.

SQ2

In SQ2, Norris continued his dominant form, topping the timesheets and showcasing McLaren’s consistent speed on the newly resurfaced track. However, the segment also produced some surprises. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez, both of whom struggled with different issues, were unable to advance to the final round. Hamilton’s shock exit added to Mercedes’ woes, while Perez could only manage 13th after failing to complete his final out-lap in time. Red Bull ordered him to park his car in the pits, preventing him from challenging the top ten.

Meanwhile, Haas’s Oliver Bearman continued to impress, making it through with just a single flying lap, as did Liam Lawson. Both drivers managed to progress despite opting for fewer attempts, while Nico Hulkenberg was unable to advance with his sole shot in SQ2. Colapinto and Valtteri Bottas, representing Williams and Sauber, respectively, were also eliminated at this stage.

SQ3

In the final SQ3 session, McLaren opted for a bold early run on soft tires, anticipating a potential downpour as rain clouds gathered over Interlagos. Both Norris and Piastri went out early on the softs, which this year were softer and easier to heat up—a vital advantage on the cool, newly repaved track. Norris initially took the lead with a time of 1m08.928s, with Piastri close behind. McLaren brought Norris back in to make a minor adjustment to his front wing, while Piastri opted to stay out for another lap.

On his second attempt, Piastri managed to edge out Norris with a time of 1m08.899s, besting his teammate by just 0.029s. Norris attempted another lap, but a mistake in the middle sector led him to abandon the run, securing Piastri’s pole position for the sprint race.

Charles Leclerc emerged as the best of the single-lap runners, securing third place for Ferrari, while Max Verstappen slotted into fourth for Red Bull. Verstappen’s recent win in Mexico gave him momentum, but he was unable to topple the McLaren duo in Brazil. Carlos Sainz completed the top five for Ferrari, while George Russell was the only Mercedes driver to reach SQ3, finishing sixth.

Oliver Bearman’s performance once again stood out, though not without drama. He had a significant moment in the Senna S, going wide in Turn 2 and breaching track limits, leading to the deletion of his time. Bearman’s lapse prevented him from making the most of the soft tires, which could have allowed multiple fast laps, but he still managed to stay within the top ten, finishing 10th behind Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson, and Alex Albon.

The final order for the sprint race saw McLaren's Piastri and Norris in a strong 1-2 position, followed by Leclerc, Verstappen, and Sainz in the top five. Russell, Gasly, Lawson, Albon, and Bearman rounded out the top ten.

The session underscored McLaren’s dominance and the effectiveness of their early tire strategy. With rain a possibility in the upcoming sprint race, the McLaren duo is well-positioned to capitalize on their front-row advantage, while the rest of the grid looks to mount a challenge in what promises to be an exciting contest.

Sprint Race

The 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix sprint race delivered an exciting contest with McLaren’s Lando Norris claiming his first F1 sprint race victory, helped by teammate Oscar Piastri. Red Bull's Max Verstappen initially finished third but was demoted to fourth following a penalty, allowing Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to claim the final podium position.

The sprint began with pole-sitter Oscar Piastri blocking Norris's inside line at Turn 1, maintaining his lead with his teammate directly behind. Verstappen, starting fourth, aggressively pursued Leclerc for third but locked up, missing an opportunity to pass the Ferrari driver early on. This sequence allowed McLaren’s duo to build a slight gap.

Norris, sensing he could push faster, suggested a switch of positions early in the 24-lap race. Instead, the team instructed Piastri to provide Norris with DRS, allowing him to stay close in the first half of the race as the McLaren drivers worked in tandem.

In the middle portion of the race, Leclerc continued to shadow the McLarens until a momentary slip in the Senna S on lap 13 left him defending from Verstappen. This gave McLaren the opportunity to break the DRS threat behind them and extend their lead. However, as Leclerc's pace waned, Verstappen seized his chance on lap 18, overtaking the Ferrari on the outside of Turn 4 with the help of DRS.

With Leclerc now trailing, Verstappen turned his focus on the McLarens, quickly closing the two-second gap to Norris. He gained ground on the leaders, indicating a potential final-lap showdown.

As Verstappen closed in, McLaren issued a team order, and Piastri moved aside on lap 22, allowing Norris into the lead. Just as Verstappen positioned himself behind Piastri to challenge for second, Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas broke down at Turn 8, leading to the activation of the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) just before the penultimate lap.

The VSC neutralized the race, briefly halting any attempts by Verstappen to pass Piastri. As the VSC concluded on the final lap, Verstappen made a quick move, pulling out from behind Piastri’s slipstream as they approached Turn 4. But as the green flag resumed, Norris surged ahead to secure victory by half a second, with Piastri holding off Verstappen at the line.

After the race, the stewards investigated Verstappen’s actions under the VSC and issued a five-second penalty, dropping him from third to fourth and promoting Leclerc to the podium. Norris expressed gratitude towards Piastri, acknowledging the team effort. “Yeah, not proud about it,” Norris admitted. “But we work well as a team together. I thank Oscar; we’ve done a great job as a team.”

With McLaren securing a 1-2 finish, Norris looked ahead to the rest of the weekend, expressing confidence in their qualifying and race pace. Ferrari, however, struggled to capitalize on their expected performance advantage, with Leclerc dropping off the McLarens by the finish and Carlos Sainz finishing behind in fifth.

Mercedes’ George Russell finished sixth, followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who claimed an impressive seventh. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez worked his way up from 13th to eighth, securing the final point. Lewis Hamilton recovered from a poor start but remained outside the top points-scoring positions, while Haas’s Oliver Bearman slipped from his early position within the top ten.

The sprint race at Interlagos set the stage for an intense Grand Prix, with McLaren and Norris in top form and Verstappen looking to redeem himself after the penalty.

Qualifying

Lando Norris clinched pole position in a dramatic and rain-soaked qualifying session at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, as multiple red flags interrupted the action and hampered the efforts of other top drivers. Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who had difficulties navigating the disrupted session, was further impacted by an engine-change penalty, pushing him down to start from 17th on the grid.

Q1

The session began under wet conditions that soon worsened. Early in Q1, Franco Colapinto lost control and crashed, causing a red flag that left many drivers waiting to make a final push as the rain intensified. As times started to improve toward the end of the session, several drivers, including Norris, narrowly escaped elimination. Liam Lawson’s last-second improvement knocked out Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who expressed his frustration over his car’s handling in the challenging conditions. Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas attempted a switch to intermediate tires but was caught out by worsening track conditions, while his teammate Zhou Guanyu's final attempt placed him last, securing Norris's spot in Q2.

Q2

Q2 saw another round of upsets and red flags, especially for the Red Bull team. Early in the session, Norris struggled on full wet tires, but Oscar Piastri led the switch to intermediates, sparking a faster phase for McLaren. However, a major crash by Carlos Sainz at Turn 1 brought out a red flag, which nearly cost Norris his position as he was on the verge of elimination.

Once the session resumed, Norris managed to improve his time, while Verstappen failed to find the pace needed to secure a safe position. The next blow for Red Bull came when Lance Stroll crashed at Turn 3 with under a minute remaining, causing another red flag. Verstappen, trapped by the stoppage and Red Bull's starting pit box position, couldn't complete a final lap. Even without the red flag, Leclerc’s improvement just before Stroll’s crash would have kept Verstappen from advancing, leaving him visibly frustrated with the session's timing and his eventual elimination.

Q3

Norris entered Q3 with renewed confidence, setting the early pace with a 1m25.631s on intermediate tires. As the rain varied in intensity, the teams fueled their cars for longer runs. Norris improved on his initial time, clocking a 1m24.158s, as his teammate Piastri and Williams’ Alex Albon joined him at the top of the leaderboard.

However, chaos struck again when Fernando Alonso lost control of his Aston Martin through Turn 11, triggering a red flag. With seven minutes remaining, drivers lined up to take another shot at pole. Both Piastri and Russell had moments on track, with Piastri spinning and Tsunoda facing difficulties as they tried to get their tires up to optimal temperature.

When Albon crashed at Turn 1, the fifth red flag of the session was called, adding to the dramatic delays. Albon's spin and subsequent impact on the barrier ended his session and briefly paused the action again. When the session resumed, McLaren opted to give Norris two flying laps, a strategy that proved successful. Norris improved first to a 1m24.092s and then to an unbeatable 1m23.405s, securing pole position.

With Norris on pole, Mercedes’ George Russell lined up second, followed by Yuki Tsunoda in third for Red Bull. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who also completed a two-lap run, claimed fourth, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc managed sixth despite encountering yellow flags on his final attempt after Piastri’s off-track moment. Albon's earlier performance kept him in seventh, with Piastri settling for eighth after a lock-up on his last run. Aston Martin’s Alonso and Stroll, both victims of crashes, completed the top ten, with Stroll missing out on Q3 after his earlier incident in Q2.

This chaotic session sets the stage for an unpredictable race at Interlagos, where Norris’s pole position marks a significant achievement for McLaren, while Verstappen faces a difficult task starting from 17th. The wet weather and red flags tested the drivers' skill and patience, resulting in a thrilling qualifying session that reshuffled the usual pecking order in Formula 1.

Race

In an incredible comeback drive, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen triumphed at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, charging from a 17th-place start to clinch victory in a thrilling and chaotic race at Interlagos. Verstappen, who displayed a wet-weather masterclass, overtook numerous cars to claim his first win since June’s Spanish Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Lando Norris, who started from pole, struggled with his McLaren and ultimately fell to sixth place, hampered by a bizarre aborted start and on-track incidents.

The drama began even before the race had officially started. On the formation lap, Lance Stroll spun off at Turn 4, damaging his Aston Martin and becoming stranded in the gravel. This incident triggered an “Aborted Start” message, which created confusion among the drivers. Norris led several cars across the line in reaction, while Verstappen, among a separate group, waited at the grid for green lights. This mix-up delayed the race start by 10 minutes, setting the stage for an unpredictable contest.

At the start, Mercedes’ George Russell managed a quick getaway, overtaking Norris to lead into Turn 1. Verstappen, meanwhile, showed his aggressive form, weaving through the midfield with a series of daring overtakes, quickly moving up to 11th by the end of the opening lap. Russell and Norris pulled away from the pack, with Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, and Charles Leclerc chasing close behind, though Norris couldn’t mount a challenge to reclaim the lead.

By Lap 15, Verstappen had closed in on Leclerc but was momentarily held up behind the Ferrari as rain intensified around Lap 24. Leclerc became one of the first to pit, freeing up Verstappen’s pace, as he inched closer to the leading group. Then, on Lap 27, Nico Hulkenberg spun at Turn 1, prompting a Virtual Safety Car (VSC). Some back markers pitted under the VSC, and once the Haas was moved, leaders like Russell and Norris followed suit, stopping at the end of Lap 28.

Ocon, Verstappen, and Pierre Gasly, however, stayed out, vaulting into the lead as the VSC ended just as Russell and Norris rejoined. The McLaren and Mercedes drivers lost valuable track positions, with Ocon now leading, Verstappen in second, and Gasly in third. Meanwhile, Tsunoda was shuffled down after Ocon passed him earlier in the stint.

The rain picked up again, and on Lap 30, the safety car was deployed following an accident involving Williams’ Franco Colapinto. During a near 25-minute delay, Ocon, Verstappen, and Gasly took the opportunity to switch to fresh intermediates without losing their places, while Hulkenberg was black-flagged for being pushed backwards after rejoining from the Turn 1 runoff.

At the restart, Ocon initially pulled a gap, setting a 3.3-second lead over Verstappen. However, the race’s rhythm was soon interrupted again when Carlos Sainz crashed on Lap 39, prompting another safety car.

On the restart, Verstappen executed a brilliant maneuver, diving past Ocon into Turn 1 to seize the lead. Despite Ocon’s strong getaway, the Alpine driver couldn’t fend off Verstappen’s RB20, which showed exceptional pace and stability in the wet. Behind them, Norris came under pressure from Leclerc but slid off at Turn 1, losing his position to the Ferrari and slipping down the order. Leclerc’s charge continued until he went off at Turn 4, allowing Russell to reclaim fourth.

With Verstappen at the helm, he continued to set a series of fastest laps, building an insurmountable lead. Even as rain increased briefly, he managed the pace expertly, stretching his advantage to an impressive 19.3 seconds by the checkered flag. Ocon held firm to finish second, and Gasly completed a double podium for Alpine, defending his position from Russell, who settled for fourth.

Leclerc finished fifth, while Norris, who had initially shown promise from pole, crossed the line in sixth after struggling to regain his rhythm. Norris’s post-race investigation for the aborted start incident left his final position in question. Oscar Piastri finished seventh on track but was demoted to eighth after a 10-second penalty for an earlier collision with Lawson.

Liam Lawson held off late charges from Hamilton and Sergio Perez to finish ninth, while Hamilton and Perez, who clashed in the final stages, both had off-track moments in the tricky conditions. Alex Albon did not participate in the race due to his qualifying crash.

Verstappen’s spectacular drive from 17th demonstrated his skill in adverse conditions, bolstering his title hopes as he closed the gap on his championship rivals. Alpine’s surprise double podium elevated the team to sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, marking a triumphant day for the French outfit. The chaotic and thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix will be remembered as a showcase of Verstappen’s resilience and racecraft in the wet.