05/11/2023
NEWS STORY
Now we may be getting a tiny bit ahead of ourselves but we cannot help but feel that even without the intervention of the weather Gods, today could be a bit special.
First off we have a number of drivers starting out of position, though this is slightly eased by the numerous opportunities for overtaking here, Interlagos being one of the best on the calendar for passing, and then there's tyres...
Asked when he first began to struggle during the sprint, Max Verstappen shot back: "On the out lap", and that went for pretty much everyone else.
Ferrari was one of several teams to "sacrifice" the Sprint in order to focus on today's race, with Charles Leclerc opting for used softs yesterday in order to save a fresh set for today.
Other drivers opted to follow a similar patter while others decided not to, or, in some cases, were so limited they had no choice. As a result, while Leclerc, Verstappen and Norris have one fresh of softs, the majority of their rivals don't.
On the other hand the majority of drivers have at least two sets of fresh mediums and a set of hards, though we don't expect to see much if anything of the white-banded rubber today because it is simply too slow here.
Bottas has three sets of fresh softs, while Hamilton and Gasly have three sets of mediums, as does Albon.
According to Pirelli, a two-stop is clearly the better option today, running a mix of soft and medium. Indeed, from what was seen in the Sprint, the soft has shown itself to be a valid choice, even over quite a long stint, and so the key will be to find the right balance between the length of the various sections of the race and the order in which to use the different compounds.
However, one should not rule out a three-stopper, even if, on paper, it's not the quickest, for those who want to try and push more without being too worried about tyre management on a track where overtaking is possible at several places. Finally, it's worth remembering that the undercut can be very effective here.
Nonetheless, whatever the strategy, we can expect lots of complaints about tyres this afternoon.
While Verstappen made short work of Norris at the start of the Sprint yesterday, Leclerc won't be such a pushover this afternoon. Furthermore, with neither enjoying the support of a nearby teammate they will be under attack from the Aston Martin pair, not to mention the Mercedes duo.
As we saw (again) last week a race cannot be won at the first corner but it can be lost, and in all honesty the ones that need to take the biggest risk at the start this afternoon are Alonso and Stroll, whose race pace yesterday was impressive. Indeed the Silverstone-based outfit would be best served by ordering Stroll to ride shotgun for his teammate by backing up the field.
Of course, positions lost at the start will lead to drivers having to push extra hard to compensate, and with a wary eye on tyre wear this means even the merest of slips could prove costly.
Norris, starting from seventh will be keen to make up places, as will Perez and Piastri right behind, and watch out for the AlphaTauris of Ricciardo and Tsunoda who start from 16th and 17th.
Over the course of the weekend thus far, Norris has been quickest, ahead of Verstappen, Perez, Alonso and Sainz and it will be interesting to see if the Briton can convert that raw speed advantage into another podium finish.
All in all this is a race that promises much, and we can only hope that it lives up to expectations.
Russell and the Alpine pair were all hit with two place grid penalties for impeding in the pitlane on Friday, and while Gasly had an engine change overnight it was without penalty as it was a unit from his pool.
The pitlane opens and the drivers begin to head out, among the first out are the Haas pair. The last to join the grid is Hamilton, he and his teammate expecting a tough afternoon.
Air temperature is 21 degrees C, while the track temperature is 49 degrees. It is bright and sunny.
Russell warns of a lot of brake dust and smoke at the front of his car. As his engineers get to work there are some last minute issues on Gasly's Alpine.
All are starting on softs bar Sargeant who is on mediums. Leclerc, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Ricciardo, Bottas and Zhou all on fresh rubber, as is Sargeant.
They head off on the formation lap, all getting away cleanly.
Oh no, Leclerc has gone off and into the barriers at Turn 7 on the formation lap. He gets going again but there is damage to the front wing.
"No! I lost the hydraulics, I lost the hydraulics," he cries. "Why am I so unlucky?"
All of which leaves Alonso with clear space ahead.
The grid forms.
They're away! Verstappen leads into Turn 1, while Norris and Hamilton pass the Aston Martin pair who appear to be caught napping.
In fact, Alonso moves to the right to cover off his teammate and Hamilton, thereby leaving a nice gap for Norris, who doesn't wait for an invitation. While the McLaren driver goes on inside of the Aston Martin pair, rubbing salt in the wound Hamilton goes past them on the outside.
Further back Magnussen is off after contact with Albon, the Williams driver having made contact with Hulkenberg on the run to Turn 1 which forced him into the Dane. The spinning Haas of Magnussen then hit the rear of Piastri's McLaren breaking his rear wing before both the Williams and the Haas went off into the barriers.
Adding to the mayhem, the carcass of one of the rear tyres flies into the air and appears to hit Ricciardo's rear wing,
The Safety Car is deployed.
Piastri heads back to the pits but is told to kill the engine as it is not safe for him to continue.
Behind the Safety Car, it's: Verstappen, Norris, Hamilton, Alonso, Stroll, Russell, Perez, Sainz, Ocon and Tsunoda. Tsunoda has made up 6 places, as has Bottas, while Zhou has made up seven and Ocon five.
After 3 laps, such is the debris and damage to the barriers that the race is red flagged.
As the field return to the pits, Piastri is told that they are going to try and repair his car.
At 17:20 race control announces that the race will resume at 17:31 with a standing start.
Ricciardo thanks his crew for repairing his car.
Verstappen leads the field back on to the track, however, following repairs to their cars in the pitlane Piastri and Ricciardo have to start from the pitlane.
Norris joins Verstappen on the front row.
They're away... again.
In a repeat of yesterday Verstappen leaves Norris on the line, and while Hamilton almost passes the McLaren driver in the opening complex it is the Mercedes driver who is passed by Alonso on the run to Turn 4.
Further back Tsunoda is battling Ocon for tenth, while Hulkenberg is up to twelfth albeit under pressure from Bottas.
Verstappen leads, ahead of Norris, Alonso, Hamilton, Russell, Perez, Stroll, Sainz, Gasly and Ocon.
Lap 7 sees Norris post a new fastest lap as he maintains a 0.446s gap to the leader. Alonso is already 2s behind.
At the start of Lap 8, Norris attempts to go around the outside of Verstappen in Turn 1 and having failed has another go on the run to Turn 4.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Interlagos City here.
Those two attempts appeared to have taken their toll as the Briton slips 1.8s behind the Red Bull.
"I'm having to push too hard in 11 and 12," warns Russell, who is hoping to be given the all-clear to pass his teammate ahead who is already managing his tyres. Indeed, Russell is falling into the clutches of Perez.
After 10 laps, Norris has fallen 2.1s behind just 1.5s ahead of Alonso.
Hamilton heads a DRS train of five cars.
"We're still on Plan A, Plan A," Alonso is told. "OK, agreed," he replies.
Zhou passes Hulkenberg for 13th.
Perez passes Russell for 5th, with Hamilton just 1.5s up the road.
Ocon pits at the end of Lap 14, as Ricciardo is shown the blue flags as the Hamilton train closes in.
Told he needs more (tyre) management, Russell isn't happy. "You want me to race or concede positions, if I manage I lose positions," he says.
At the start of Lap 18, Perez goes through on the inside of Hamilton in Turn 1. The Briton tries to fight back but he doesn't have the grip.
Meanwhile, Zhou and then Sargeant pit.
Hamilton pits at the end of Lap 18, as does Bottas. The Briton rejoins in 11th on mediums.
After Tsunoda dips a tyre on the grass and spins, Ricciardo asks if his teammate had a problem or made a mistake.
Russell pits at the end of Lap 19, rejoining g in 11th, behind his teammate, on mediums.
"I've got a problem with my left-front," says Hamilton, "it's starting to steer right."
Perez pits at the end of Lap 20, rejoining in 10h, splitting the Mercedes pair.
Hulkenberg pits at the end of Lap 21 as Norris falls 3.3s behind Verstappen, but remains 4.5s ahead of Alonso who is 13s clear of his Aston Martin teammate.
Stroll pits at the end of Lap 22, as Perez makes a move on Hamilton in Turn 1. Though he is unable to make the move stick the Mexican leaves the Mercedes for dead on the run to Turn 4.
Zhou is back in the pits to retire.
Stroll makes surprisingly short work of Russell to claim 9th.
"Not great," replies Piastri when asked about the state of his tyres. Like his countryman Ricciardo, the McLaren driver faces an afternoon of blue flags.
Alonso pits at the end of Lap 25, the Spaniard rejoining in 6th, 3.7s ahead of Perez.
Sainz, Gasly and Tsunoda all pit at the end of Lap 26, while Verstappen and Norris pit a lap later.
Verstappen rejoins still leading, while Norris retains second, 5.4s ahead of Alonso.
Replay shows that Sainz was released almost into the path of Tsunoda during their stops.
Russell is all over the back of his teammate as Sainz makes short work of Ocon.
Hulkenberg, down in 14th, is told that his pace is amazing.
Ocon pits at the end of Lap 31, his second stop of the afternoon.
"I haven't been on the radio because I thought it was obvious," says Russell, referring to the fact that he is maintaining position behind his Mercedes teammate.
Meanwhile, Sainz is just 0.847s behind.
"I'm starting to struggle with these tyres," warns Hamilton as Perez closes to within 1.4s of Alonso.
Sainz passes Russell at the start of Lap 35.
Tsunoda passes Bottas for tenth as Norris posts a new fastest lap (14.845).
Sainz nails Hamilton on the run to Turn 4, the Briton unable to offer any kind of resistance.
Verstappen responds with a new fastest lap (14.682).
Ocon passes Hulkenberg for 13th.
Bottas, having lost a couple of positions, pits as Alfa Romeo faces a double DNF.
Adding to Mercedes woes is the fact that Gasly is closing on Russell, who has been told to lift and coast with an eye on his engine temperature.
In the Mercedes garage Toto Wolff is not a happy bunny.
"I have too much understeer in slow speed," reports Tsunoda who is currently 10th, 3.9s down on Gasly... who has just passed Russell in Turn 1.
"So we can extend, us the pace you've got now, it's good," Alonso is told.
"Check the brakes, problem with the brakes," warns Ocon, as Stroll says he is struggling with his tyres.
Sargeant pits at the end of Lap 45.
"I don't know if it's gusty," asks Hamilton, "but the car's so bad in the air!"
Russell pits at the end of Lap 46, rejoining in 11th, with Perez stopping a lap later. Hamilton and Gasly also stop.
Perez rejoins in 7th, Hamilton ninth and Gasly 10th, all on softs.
Alonso pits at the end of Lap 47, reacting to Perez's undercut. The Spaniard rejoins in 5th 3.9s up on Perez who is under attack from Tsunoda.
"We should have gone to the hard tyre," says Hamilton as he goes quickest in S1.
As Gasly posts a new fastest lap (14.521), he passes his teammate in what appears to be an orchestrated move.
Gasly makes short work of Hamilton to claim 8th as Russell remains 11th.
"I'm in his DRS but I'm not catching him," says Hamilton.
Sainz pits at the end of Lap 51, the Spaniard rejoining in 7th, as Ocon also stops.
A lap later it is Stroll who pits, thereby promoting Alonso back up to third and Perez fourth. Stroll rejoins in sixth ahead of Sainz.
Tsunoda remains fourth but on 26-lap old mediums he is going to have to stop again.
Piastri pits at the end of Lap 54 as Ocon posts a new fastest lap (14.206).
Suddenly, Perez is just 0.682s down on Alonso. The Mexican posts a new fastest lap (14.124), as teammate Verstappen pits, as does Tsunoda, who rejoins in tenth.
Ricciardo pits at the end of Lap 56, rejoining in 14th.
"Retire the car," Russel is told.
"Norris likely to one stop from here," Verstappen is told. "How far ahead is he," asks the Dutchman. "Twelve seconds," he is told.
Posting a new fastest lap (14.044), Verstappen closes to within 4s before Norris opts to stop.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Interlagos City here.
Perez makes a move on Alonso in Turn 1 and they almost touch, the Spaniard digging deep and using all his experience to hold station.
Lap 61 sees a new fastest lap from Norris (12.486), as he seeks to close the 11.2s gap to Verstappen. Meanwhile, Perez continues to harry Alonso.
Told he is matching Gasly's time, Hamilton replies: "I can't catch him, I'm saving the tyres."
With 5 laps remaining the field is pretty strung out, with Alonso/Perez the only genuine battle.
"I have no downshifts, the left paddle is not responding," warns Sainz, who has Gasly 4.4s behind.
At the start of Lap 70, Perez passes Alonso in Turn 1 having got the full benefit of DRS and a two.
The Spaniard fights back but in all honesty it appears futile.
No... no... no... The Samurai neve r gives up and on the run to Turn 4 on the final lap he sweeps by the Red Bull.
However on the run to the finish line Perez makes another move, they're side by side but the two-time world champion has the edge... albeit by 0.053s. Brilliant stuff.
Oh, and Verstappen won!
"That was a long, tough afternoon," says Hamilton. "Lewis, the car can't be that bad from one week to the other," says Toto Wolff, "we need to find out why."
So, Verstappen wins ahead of Norris, Alonso, Perez, Stroll, Sainz, Gasly, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Ocon.
Sargeant is eleventh, ahead of Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Piastri, the two Australian having had the worst kind of Sunday afternoon.
"For me it was like 30 laps I had the pressure from Checo," says Alonso. "When he passed me with two laps to go, I thought 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.
"I'm happy with this result," he grins, "and now to Vegas!"
"I couldn't have gone much better to be honest," says Norris, "a good start at the beginning to go from sixth to second which was a nice surprise.
"P2 is as good as we can get for the time being," he admits. "Max always seemed to have an answer to everything which is a shame, but fair play to him."
"The starts were very important, both of them were very good," adds Verstappen. "We were good on any tyre, we created a bit of a gap.
"With the high deg, the focus needed to be there, but luckily it worked out today."
Not the thrill we were hoping for, but those last couple of laps with Fernando and Sergio were worth the price of admission alone.
Picking up on what Toto was saying it is indeed mystifying how a car can differ from one week to another, but then again look at the Red Bulls in Singapore.
Another Sunday afternoon cruise for Max, but Alonso proves there is life in the old dog yet, while Tsunoda adds two more precious points to AlphaTauri's tally.
Now it's off to Vegas, where is the racing is even half as good as the hype we can expect a thriller. Sadly however, we get the feeling that it's going to be more about the Machine Gun Kelly's of this world. (Groan)
Check out our Sunday gallery from Interlagos City here.