INDIA in F1

Tag: Sao Paulo Grand Prix

  • Starting from P17, Verstappen takes stunning win; enhances title chances

    Starting from P17, Verstappen takes stunning win; enhances title chances

    Sao Paulo, 3 Nov 2024: Max Verstappen took a stunning win at the São Paulo Grand Prix, climbing from 17th place on the grid to take his eighth victory of the season almost 20 seconds clear of the chasing pack. Behind the three-time champion, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly took a surprise double podium for Alpine. 

    On the formation lap ahead of the start, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll crashed and Race Control indicated an aborted start. That should have signalled the drivers to remains on the grid after the formation lap to await further instructions. Norris, however, pulled away and a number of other drivers followed the pole sitter. Another formation lap was the result and Norris and several others were informed that the incident would be investigated agfter the race. 

    When the light eventually went out, front row starter Russell reacted best and he stole the lead on the run to Turn 1 ahead of Norris. RB’s Yuki Tsunoda held his starting third place ahead of Ocon, while Ferrrari’s Charles Lecler moved ahead of RB’s Liam Lawson to take fifth. 

    Further back, Verstappen made a brilliant start from P17, and as the field exited the Senna S, the Dutchman charged around the outside to climb to P11 behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. And at the start of lap 2 the Dutchman dived down the inside of the Mercedes to climb into a points-paying position.

    Verstappen wasn’t done, though, and after picking off Alpine’s Pierre Gasly’s Alpine at the start of lap 3, he muscled his way past Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso on the following lap. He then chased down Oscar Piastri and Lawson and by the end of lap 11 he was a remarkable sixth. 

    At the front, on lap 20, Russell still led, just under a second ahead of Norris. Eight seconds behind the top two, Tsunoda headed a DRS train consisting of Ocon, Leclerc and Verstappen. 

    On lap the shape of the race changed. In worsening rain, Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg  went wide in Turn 1 and stopped at the edge of the track. The VSC was deployed, sparking a flurry of pit stops. 

    With the aid of marshals, Hülkenberg was able to rejopin – a move that ultimately led to him being black-flagged – and just as the VSC ended, the top three of Russell, Norris and Tsunoda dived into the pits for more Inters. That promoted Ocon into the lead, with Verstappen in P2 ahead of Gasly.

    With the VSC spell complete, Norris eased past Russell to claim fourth place but with the conditions worsening badly, the Safety Car was eventually deployed. And when Williams’ Franco Colapinto lost control in Turn 12 and hit the barriers, the red flags came out and the race was halted.

    At the restart, Ocon held his lead over Verstappen and Gasly, but behind them Norris went wide and Russell was able to sneak through to P4. On lap 40, though, Sainz, who had been trying to catch Pérez, crashed at Turn 8 and the Safety Car took to the track for the second time. 

    The restart took place at the end of lap 42 and this time Verstappen judged it perfectly. He stuck with Ocon and when the Frenchman tried to pull away, Verstappen stayed close enough to dive down the inside into Turn 1 and steal the lead. 

    Behind them Gasly managed to hold onto third but Russell, Leclerc and Norris were all jockeying for position. Desperate to avoid a collision, Norris locked up behind Russell and dropped back to P7 behind team-mate Piastri. The Australian, facing a time penalty for a collision, would later wave the Briton through to P6. 

    At the front, Verstappen began to stretch away from the pack and with 20 laps remaining the Dutchman had pulled out a five-second gap to Ocon, with Gasly three seconds further back in third. 

    In the closing stages, Verstappen took complete control and after posting a staggering 17 fastest laps that earned him a bonus point the Dutchman crossed the line to take his eighth win of the season and his first the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

    Behind the champion Ocon and Gasly completed a shock double podium for Alpine, while Russell took fourth ahead of Leclerc. Norris, facing an investigation for breaching starting regulations when the original start was aborted, finished sixth ahead of Tsunoda and Piastri while Liam Lawson made it a double points finish ahead of Hamilton.

    2024 FIA Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 69 2:06’54.430 
    2 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 69 2:07’13.907 19.477
    3 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 69 2:07’16.962 22.532
    4 George Russell Mercedes 69 2:07’17.695 23.265
    5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 69 2:07’24.607 30.177
    6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 69 2:07’25.802 31.372
    7 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 69 2:07’36.486 42.056
    8 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 69 2:07’39.373 44.943
    9 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 69 2:07’44.882 50.452
    10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 69 2:07’45.183 50.753
    11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 69 2:07’45.961 51.531
    12 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 69 2:07’51.515 57.085
    13 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 69 2:07’58.018 1’03.588
    14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 69 2:08’12.479 1’18.049
    15 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 69 2:08’14.079 1’19.649
         Carlos Sainz Ferrari 38 – 31 laps
         Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 30 – Retirement
         Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 0 – Not started
         Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 0 – Not started
         Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 30 – DSQ

  • Lando Norris claims pole in dramatic wet qualifying at Sao Paulo GP: F1

    Lando Norris claims pole in dramatic wet qualifying at Sao Paulo GP: F1

    Inter Lagos, 2 Nov 2024: Lando Norris claimed a potentially crucial pole position for the São Paulo Grand Prix at the end of a chaotic, rain-hit qualifying at Interlagos that was red-flagged five times and which left the McLaren driver’s title rival Max Verstappen in P12 and facing a P17 start after he takes a grid penalty for PU changes. 

    In soaking wet conditions a long queue formed at the end of the pit lane ahead of the session and when the green lights came on it was Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who set the early pace with a lap of 1:29.916. Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez slotted into P2 a tenth further back but RB’s Yuki Tsunoda then bypassed both with a lap of 1:29.172. 

    The first red flag of the session then came out. Franco Colapinto lost control of his Williams in the middle of Turn 3 and spun off into the barriers. The Argentinian was unhurt but the session was suspended. 

    After an eight-minute delay, the action got underway again, and with a couple of minutes left, Verstappen moved out of potential danger by claiming P5. His lap was deleted, however, as double waved yellow flags were being shown for an off for Nico Hülkenberg and the champion plummeted down to P12. However, in the final seconds he posted a lap 1:28.522 to jump to the top of the order ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Mercedes’ George Russell. 

    Further back there was no place in Q2 for Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver dropped out in P16 ahead the Haas of Ollie Bearman, the unfortunate Colapinto, the second Haas of Hülkenberg and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu. 

    Verstappen was to the fore again at the start of Q2. After Pérez got the ball rolling with a lap of 1:28.158, Verstappen powered past that, clearing his team-mate by 0.387s to set a time of 1:27.771. 

    However, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri had made the switch to Intermediate tyres and the Australian jumped to P1 six tenths of a second ahead of Verstappen, before improving again by almost a second to set the pace at 1:25.179.

    That sparked a mass move to Intermediates but while Russell and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll were able to exploit the green-banded tyres to climb to second and third respectively, there was no chance for anyone else to improve before the session was red-flagged for a second time. Carlos Sainz spun in Turn 2 and the Ferrari driver went backwards into the barriers, causing heavy damage to the back of the car. 

    After another eight-minute halt, the session was restarted and once again, on a drying track, the lottery kicked into gear. 

    Norris was first out on track and the Briton jumped to top spot with a lap of 1:24.844. However, further back on track, Stroll crashed in Turn 3. The red flags came out again and the stoppage denied both Red Bull drivers the chance to improve. With just 45 seconds left on the clock, there would be no resumption and Verstappen exited in P12, immediately ahead of team-mate Pérez. Also eliminated at the end of the middle segment were Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in P11, Sainz in 14th place and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in P15. 

    At the start of Q3, it was Norris who made the most of the conditions and the McLaren driver took top spot with a lap of 1:24.158, half a second clear of Albon, with Piastri in third place. 

    However, almost immediately after Norris crossed the line the red flags were flown for a fourth time. Fernando Alonso lost control in Turn 11 and he went off into the barriers at high speed. 

    After a 12-minute delay to repair the barriers, and with seven minutes left, the session resumed. But once again the action was brief. With three minutes remaining Albon’s Williams stepped out under braking into Turn 1 and he slammed hard into the barriers, doing severe damage to the rear and front left of his car. The red flags appeared for the fifth time. 

    And when the session resumed for the final time there was no stopping Norris. The Briton improved again to take pole with a time of 1:23.406 ahead of Russell with RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in third place. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was fourth ahead of the second RB of Liam Lawson. Leclerc qualified sixth ahead of Alnon and Piastri with the Astons of Alonso and Stroll in ninth and tenth. 

    Lando Norris Quote:

    “A positive job as a team today. The car has great pace this weekend and I felt good out there. I think we were strong but it’s difficult to judge in a Sprint when everyone is looking at how much to manage and how much to push. Oscar deserved it today, but we’ve done what we had to do with our pursuit of the two Championships. We executed it very well and I’m thankful for his support. It’s a disappointing afternoon for the fans with Qualifying not going ahead but I’m looking forward to a strong performance tomorrow.”

    2024 FIA Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:23.405 – –
    2 George Russell Mercedes 1:23.578 0.173 
    3 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:24.111 0.706 
    4 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:24.475 1.070 
    5 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 1:24.484 1.079 
    6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:24.525 1.120 
    7 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:24.657 1.252 
    8 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:24.686 1.281 
    9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:28.998 5.593 
    10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes – – –
    11 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:26.472 3.067 
    12 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:27.771 4.366 
    13 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:28.158 4.753 
    14 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:29.406 6.001 
    15 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:29.614 6.209 
    16 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.150 7.745 
    17 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:31.229 7.824 
    18 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 1:31.270 7.865 
    19 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:31.623 8.218 
    20 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.263 8.858