F1: Verstappen gets 52nd F1 win in Sao Paulo GP

Max Verstappen grabbed the lead from pole at the start, kept Lando Norris at bay, and won the 2023 Sao Paulo GP for his 52nd career F1 win.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

On the soft red Pirelli tires Norris was able to stay within 3 seconds of Verstappen, but when both drivers made their first stop for medium tires, the Red Bull was happier and Verstappen was able to pull away from Norris 0.2 to 0.5s per lap.

After the 2nd pitstop on soft tires, Lando Norris was flying and set fastest race lap, but Verstappen was just managing the gap and saving his tires. Norris got the gap down to 8.2 sec. and then Verstappen responded, winning by 8.277 seconds while saving his engine and tires.

“The starts were very important, both of them were very good,” said a happy Verstappen.

“We were good on any tire, we created a bit of a gap. With the high deg, the focus needed to be there, but luckily it worked out today.”

“Couldn’t have gone much better to be honest, a good start at the beginning to go from sixth to second which was a nice surprise,” said Norris.

“P2 is as good as we can get for the time being. Max always seemed to have an answer to everything which is a shame, but fair play to him.”

In winning his record 17th race of the year in his #1 Red Bull Honda, Verstappen moves into sole 4th place in career F1 wins, breaking the tie he had with Alain Prost. Up next is 3rd place Sebastian Vettel with 53 wins.

Verstappen is only 26 years old.

Couple with his win in Saturday’s Sprint race over Norris, Verstappen had a nearly perfect weekend.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso held off the 2nd Red Bull of Sergio Perez for 3rd in a sensational battle that ended in a photo finish, but Perez will be happy in having beat his main points rival Lewis Hamilton in this race and the Sprint race.

“For me it was like 30 laps I had the pressure from Checo,” said an ecstatic Alonso.

“When he passed me with two laps to go, I though the podium was gone. This is a phenomenal result for the team, we’ve been struggling for a few races, two DNFs but this is for them. Happy with this result – and now to Vegas!”

👀 #BrazilGP #Alonso #Perez #F1 pic.twitter.com/PMBXGZQDjG

— F1 Images (@F1_Images) November 6, 2023

Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded out the top-5 well behind the leaders.

Pierre Gasly was seventh, Lewis Hamilton a distant eighth, Yuki Tsunoda ninth and Esteban Ocon rounded out the top-10.

Charles Leclerc crashed on the formation lap when he lost all hydraulics and his race was over before it started.

According to his team radio, it was a case of more bad luck for the Ferrari man, rather than driver error.

“I lost the hydraulics,” he said on team radio. “Why am I so unlucky?”

Speaking to Canal+ with his initial reaction to the incident, Leclerc said: “I was in the turn six, I lost the hydraulics, and I went straight. the rear wheels locked,” he said.

“In short, I ran hoping to be able to start again, with a bit of luck, but this year we don’t have any.

“I can’t do anything, it hurts, in the second half of the season, yes, I feel better… but it hurts a lot.”

Alex Albon was out at the start when he made contact with both Haas cars, sending Albon into the barrier and out of the race. The race was red flagged for 30 min to fix the damaged safety barrier.

On the restart Verstappen again got away fastest and was never headed except for 2 laps when he pitted the 2nd time.

Just two races to go, and it’s a double-header to finish the season. Now the teams have 2 weeks off before the inaugural Las Vegas GP, sure to be a sensational spectacle under the lights. Not to be missed!

2023 Sao Paulo GP Race Results – 71 Laps