Formula 1
MAX WINS NUMBER 17! ANOTHER GREAT DRIVE FROM LANDO AND YES! EL MACHISMO FERNANDO ALONSO SHOWS EVERYONE HOW IT’S DONE!!
Three-time world champion Max Verstappen avoided start chaos at Interlagos to win Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix and extend his season record to 17 victories as Mexican team-mate Sergio Pérez finished fourth for 2023 constructors’ champions Oracle Red Bull Racing.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates with his team in the Pitlane after the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 05, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
McLaren’s Lando Norris kept Verstappen honest throughout, but the Dutchman held on for victory by 8.277s with Pérez missing out on a podium place by just 0.053s to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Verstappen, 26, said: “The starts were very important today. Both of them were very good. After that, the whole race was about the management of the tyres. In the middle stint, we could create a bit of a gap.”
Lando Norris, McLaren, 2nd position, and Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren, and the McLaren team celebrate after the race. Photo: McLaren.com
Pérez, 33, said: “It was quite an intense battle. We tried everything. Unfortunately we didn’t succeed. I’m on the wrong side, I ended up losing, but it’s fine because it was a great fight.”
Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda drove well to claim points in ninth for Scuderia AlphaTauri with Australian team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finishing the race in 13th place ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 18.
MAX VERSTAPPEN
“It has been a good weekend in Brazil. It was a great race and we had good all-round pace throughout. Again, it was a really long stint on the tyres and it was important to save them throughout as we had high tyre degradation. Lando had a good race and I had to work to defend in the first lap and maintain the gap.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 05, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
He was close to me in stint one and pushed a bit harder on the newer compounds at the start but I stayed calm throughout the race, just relaxed and let the car roll into the corner. He did well and we had some good racing today. It has been quite a long triple header so looking forward to a few days break before preparing for Vegas. I am enjoying the moment and hopefully we can continue this success until the end of the year.”
FERNANDO ALONSO
For the last 30 laps, it felt like I had pressure from Sergio [Pérez]. But when he passed me two laps from the end, I thought the chance of a podium finish was no longer possible. Then he braked a bit late into Turn One on the final lap, and I said to myself I would go for it into Turn Four.
action, Autódromo José Carlos Pace, GP2320a, F1, GP, Brazil
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, leads Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19
This is a phenomenal result for the whole team. We’d been struggling a little in recent races – especially the last two events – so this podium is for everyone at the track and everyone back at Silverstone. It shows that we will always keep fighting until the very last lap, the last corner.”