Sensational Verstappen Proves Why He is HIM
Despite starting from 17th on the Grid, it was Max Verstappen who showcased his immense talent to take victory in Sao Paulo it what is probably the defining moment in this year’s World Drivers’ Championship fight! It wasn’t just Max who had a special day though as Alpine scored a famous double Podium with Esteban Ocon coming in ahead of Pierre Gasly! Allons-y!
The Biggest Talking Points
Where to start! Well, before the Race even began, Lance Stroll found himself out on the Formation Lap after spinning at Turn 4 and beaching his car in the gravel! When the Race eventually got underway, it was George Russell who got the better start to jump ahead of Lando Norris before Sergio Perez had a spin later on around the opening lap. Just 2 laps in and Max Verstappen had already made his way past Lewis Hamilton and into P10 before Verstappen made more moves to get himself into P6! Russell was still leading Norris at the front with Yuki Tsunoda ahead of Esteban Ocon, and whilst this was going on, the rest of the field were involved in a lot of scraps which saw Oliver Bearman pick up a 10-second time penalty for hitting the back of Franco Colapinto’s Williams whilst Oscar Piastri was also given the same penalty for spinning around Liam Lawson! Nico Hulkenberg also had a spin that ultimately got him disqualified after the marshals helped him out, and with the rain coming down heavier, the two leaders made the decision to box for a new set of Intermediates. This dropped George and Lando down to P4 and P5 respectively as the Safety Car was brought out with Ocon leading Verstappen with Pierre Gasly in P3 in the other Alpine! We then got a massive crash for Franco Colapinto behind the Safety Car which ultimately brought out the Red Flag, meaning Russell and Norris had lost track position!
When the Race got back underway, Esteban Ocon remained ahead of Max Verstappen in the lead of the Grand Prix whilst a mistake for Lando Norris put him back behind George Russell (after he initially overtook him just before the Safety Car was brought out). However, just a little bit later and another Safety Car was brought out as Carlos Sainz found himself in the wall for the second time in the day! When the Race one again restarted, Max Verstappen pounced to take the lead from Esteban Ocon as Lando Norris made another mistake which saw him drop behind both Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Now, McLaren ordered Piastri to let Norris through for P6, but that was all she wrote for Lando, and towards the back of the field, it was Fernando Alonso who was now struggling as he found himself running last of the running cars! The fighting for the rest of the Race then took place between Liam Lawson, Lewis Hamilton, and Sergio Perez as all three men got their elbows out in order to try and score a couple of points! Meanwhile, back at the front, Max Verstappen was setting Fastest Laps for fun whilst Pierre Gasly held off George Russell to take a brilliant double Podium for Alpine!
The Standout Drives in the Race
I’ve given out three 10’s for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix and the first one is obviously for Max Verstappen! Despite having everything thrown at him the last couple of weeks, Max proved in this Race that there are levels to this game, and I think it’s fitting that Verstappen won like this on a day that the statistical Greatest of All Time drove the most famous car in Formula 1 history! The second driver I’ve given out maximum points to is Esteban Ocon and that’s fully deserved, Esteban was absolutely brilliant here, and I love to see people proving their haters wrong! And the final driver I’ve given a Perfect 10 to is Pierre Gasly because I cannot give Pierre anything else for finishing on the Podium! Also, Gasly started this Race from P15 which is absolutely insane! I also thought Yuki Tsunoda did a great job to score 6 points for Visa Cash App RB whilst George Russell and Liam Lawson also deserve praise for putting in a strong performance!
Drives Who Had a Shocker
In total, I’ve given out four 1’s for this Race, and the first one is for Carlos Sainz. Carlos has been incredibly consistent this season, but he’s also been consistent in that he’s struggled in the rain, and this was a pretty bad day for him! The second driver I’ve given the lowest possible grade to is Franco Colapinto, and it’s a shame for Franco in the sense that this was the first day he’d driven a Formula 1 car in the wet, but he still smashed the car up so I can’t give him anything else! The third driver that gets a 1 is Lance Stroll, and I cannot believe that Lance spun out on the Formation Lap because he was in a good starting position! And the final driver that receives the lowest possible rating is Nico Hulkenberg because Nico had a spin and got disqualified which is pretty bad! I also need to mention Fernando Alonso who had a pretty poor day whilst Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu were also disappointing (the fact that Zhou finished last on the road here is just, yeah)!
Overall Race Results and My Ratings
Max Verstappen: 10 (FL)
Esteban Ocon: 10
Pierre Gasly: 10
George Russell: 8
Charles Leclerc: 7
Lando Norris: 5
Yuki Tsunoda: 9
Oscar Piastri: 5
Liam Lawson: 8
Lewis Hamilton: 4
Sergio Perez: 3
Oliver Bearman: 4
Valtteri Bottas: 6
Fernando Alonso: 2
Zhou Guanyu: 3
Carlos Sainz: 1 (DNF)
Franco Colapinto: 1 (DNF)
Alex Albon: - (DNS)
Lance Stroll: 1 (DNS)
Nico Hulkenberg: 1 (DSQ)
Credit: F1
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