Christian Horner: "A superb race today on all counts. Max was fantastic. Got out in front early and managed the tyres well. It is a similarly stellar performance we have been seeing all season. Equally, Checo had a brilliant drive, back to the form we know so well. The form we have been willing him back to in the later stages of this season. He gave as good as he got against Alonso but unfortunately was just pipped at the post. Some great racing. It's been a fantastic season for us and there are still two races to go. So our attention turns to Vegas in two weeks; racing down The Strip on Saturday night. It's certainly going to be a week like no other."
Scuderia Ferrari leaves Brazil with a sixth place courtesy of Carlos Sainz, but also with plenty to regret because of the reliability problem that took Charles Leclerc off the track on the formation lap and left him unable to start the race. The one positive to take away from the weekend is that the fight for second place in the Constructors' championship is still open as, with points scored in yesterday's Sprint and today's race, the gap has come down by 2 points to 20.
As mentioned, Charles was unable to race because of an issue on his SF-23 which cut the engine and sent him into the barriers. Carlos did not get the best of starts as a problem with the clutch saw him lose two places off the line to George Russell and Sergio Perez. The race was then red flagged on the second lap following a collision between Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen and thirty minutes later, at the second start, Carlos therefore lined up eighth on the grid. This time he held his position off the line and then did very well to manage his tyres, lengthening his first stint on the Soft. Thereafter, he had good pace on new Mediums and soon closed on George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, passing them both with clearly stronger pace. From then on, Carlos' race was about managing the Softs he had taken on at his second stop to ensure he took the chequered flag in sixth place.
The World Championship now has a short break before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the season, takes place in two Sundays time.
Frederic Vasseur - Team Principal: We are very disappointed because we could have scored plenty of important points for the championship, but we lost Charles even before the start due to a reliability problem, which sent him off the track on the formation lap. He would have been starting on the front row and on top of that, we had sacrificed his Sprint chances yesterday to favour today's Grand Prix. Now we must investigate carefully to see exactly what happened with his car.
Carlos' weekend was not without its own difficulties and he struggled at the start with the clutch, losing a few places. However, in the race, especially the first stint, he did a very good job of managing the tyres and was able to go and pass both Mercedes which means that over the course of the weekend we made up two points on our rivals. It could have been so much more, but nevertheless, the fight for second place is still on.
Lewis Hamilton finished eighth whilst George Russell was forced to retire from Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos. Lining up P5 and P8, both Lewis and George made strong starts; Lewis vaulting into P3 and George P6 before the red flag flew for a first corner incident.
On the restart, and having taken another set of used Soft tyres, Lewis lost ground and dropped to P4 whilst George gained one position to run in P5.
After that promising start though, it soon became clear that the W14 did not have the pace to fight those ahead or resist some of the faster runners behind.
Both drivers stopped twice more and kept a major focus on tyre management. They took the Medium compound for their middle stint before switching to another used Soft tyre for the final portion of the race.
Unfortunately, George wouldn't see the chequered flag. He was having to deal with rising Power Unit temperatures, and they would ultimately force his retirement. Lewis meanwhile ran a lonely race in P8 to bring home a handful of points for the team.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: Today was clearly a very poor performance. This car finished on the podium last week in Mexico so whatever we did to it here did not work. We are not usually at our strongest on sprint weekends, but that doesn't explain how challenging this weekend was. Lewis survived out there to take P8 whilst George was forced to retire. I can only feel for them having to drive something so difficult today. The car is clearly on a knife-edge the whole time and we need to ensure we develop that out of the car for next year. We also need to push hard for the final two races of the season and recover. That is the most important thing now heading to two very different tracks in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: We were very limited in what we could change on the car between the sprint and the Grand Prix today. Effectively, it's just the front wing angle and any electronic settings the driver can make from the cockpit. As such, we knew it would be difficult to make much of a step in performance, but we were always going to give it a go.
The starts were generally good. Unfortunately Lewis got past by Alonso into turn four on the second, but it was clear that we didn't have the pace to race them today. It was very much a case of hanging on from there. The drivers were having to manage tyres and deal with a lack of top speed. Towards the end we retired George as an issue on his cooling system was causing temperatures to slowly go out of control.
BWT Alpine F1 Team claimed seven points from today's Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Pierre Gasly climbed his way from fifteenth on the grid to seventh at the chequered flag and Esteban Ocon from fourteenth to tenth in a strong Sunday effort from the team in Interlagos.
The race was red flagged after a multi-car incident on the opening lap with both Esteban and Pierre reacting well to navigate their way through the chaos to gain a handful of places. At the restart, Pierre gained two places to rise to ninth place with Esteban up a place to tenth.
From there, strategy dominated the 71-lap race with Esteban on a three-stop Soft-Medium-Soft-Soft plan and Pierre on a two-stop Soft-Medium-Soft strategy; both drivers ending the race on new Softs. Pierre had a tyre advantage on Esteban on lap 49, as Esteban allowed Pierre to pass in a bid to chase Lewis Hamilton in front.
And, along with putting in the Fastest Lap of the race at the time, Pierre was able to close down the seven-time world champion before a neat move into Turn 1 to take eighth place, eventually becoming seventh once all cars completed pit-stops. Esteban then made his final stop a few laps later, aiming to close down the other Mercedes of George Russell for the final point. The Briton retired on lap 59, giving Esteban a smooth ride to tenth place.
After an intense triple header, the team looks ahead to the Las Vegas Grand Prix in a fortnight's time.
Bruno Famin, Interim Team Principal: "It's been a very good team effort today where we've been able to significantly improve our performance from yesterday's Sprint and convert our difficult grid positions into the points with both cars. It was not an easy race to manage, both for the team with the strategy calls and pit-stops, and for the drivers, who had to smartly work their way through the chaos at the start. In the end, it is seven strong points for the team, which is a good way to round off this triple header. For the last two races of the season, we need to keep our heads down, find ways to be faster from the start of the weekend to be in a better position on Sundays on the grid. I have been impressed by everyone's togetherness and teamwork and now we look ahead to Las Vegas for the penultimate race of the 2023 season."
Andrea Stella - Team Principal: "After a challenging afternoon for the team, we come away with strong points and more silverware. On Lando's side, we have somewhat mixed feelings. On the one hand we can be satisfied that he was the only car quick enough to contend with Verstappen. But over the course of the race, we have to accept that he still has a little bit of a performance advantage and we still have some work to do to close that gap. Overall, an impressive drive from Lando and important points for the team.
"On Oscar's side, his race was unfortunately compromised after being caught up in someone else's incident at the start. The team did an exceptional job to repair the substantial damage to Oscar's car during the red flag and get him back out for the remainder of the race. Despite this, Oscar's car was still carrying damage to important aerodynamic components and carried a significant lap-time deficit throughout the entire race. Nevertheless, it was a useful exercise for him to gain experience at a track he has never raced at before.
"After this long triple header, my thanks go to the entire team, both trackside and at MTC, and to our colleagues at HPP for their dedication and continued support. We come away with 63 points from a selection of racetracks that we knew didn't necessarily suit our car, which is encouraging in terms of our general competitiveness. Time now to reset and prepare for the final double-header of the season, starting in Las Vegas in two weeks' time."
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake suffered the cruellest of heartbreaks as Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu both retired from the Brazilian Grand Prix while in contention for the points. Both cars were sidelined with technical issues, nullifying a good team performance.
The disappointment is still very fresh, but there are positive elements to take to the final two races of the season: a solid pace on all compounds, good teamwork and strategy and consistent pit-stops are what the team will need as it approaches the closing stages of the 2023 campaign.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: "We're really disappointed today, especially because both drivers were delivering very solid races. Valtteri was firmly in P10, with Zhou right behind him, after a good start and with a car that performed much better than in the previous days. We were fighting with the Alpines, the AlphaTauris and a points finish was definitely on the cards. Last year we suffered quite a few DNFs, and this year we improved significantly: it's therefore even more disappointing to have two of them in the same race, and at the end of the season, when every opportunity matters even more. We will need to investigate exactly what happened, it was two separate issues that forced us to stop the cars to avoid any further damage. We will look into them in Hinwil to make sure neither reoccurs. Despite the disappointment, there are positives: we saw an improvement in performance that went alongside the lower track temperatures. This gives us confidence for Vegas, but also shows that we are very sensitive to changes in track conditions, and that we struggle to produce consistent performances in different situations. Our strategy today was the best one to maximise our result, and the drivers worked well together to execute it, but sadly we never had the opportunity to see its results. Now there's no room for regrets: we need to focus on the final two races and maximise everything we can. It's going to be hard, but we owe it to our team members, our partners and our fans."
Mike Krack, Team Principal: "Today's result was a great reward for a lot of hard work over the last few months and a difficult couple of races. Credit to everybody at the track and at the Campus for putting their heads down and working hard: we can all see what is possible with great teamwork. Fernando drove with great intelligence and skill - over the last few laps, he showed the world what a great driver he has always been. Lance did brilliantly to pass both Mercedes, keep the Ferrari behind and catch Sergio and Fernando at the end. It shows what is possible if we provide our drivers with a quick car: they perform exceptionally. We will celebrate this result - but the work continues to close the gap to the teams ahead of us. We will give 100 per cent focus to doing everything we can in the last two races."
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team finished with Nico Hulkenberg 12th, while Kevin Magnussen retired, at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Round 21 of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, held Sunday at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.
Magnussen started from 12th position on the Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires but his race came to an end at the Senna S on the first lap after he was involved in a collision with Williams' Alex Albon. Magnussen's car sustained terminal damage in the clash and he was forced to retire, though fortunately was uninjured in the incident.
Hulkenberg started from 11th place on the soft compound and also got entangled in the first corner melee, getting squeezed before contact was made between the Williams and his teammate. When the Safety Car was called after Magnussen's accident, the German pitted for Yellow medium tires. The race was ultimately red-flagged due to the need for barrier repairs and a 30-minute delay ensued, in which time the team promptly fixed damage on the VF-23. He took the restart on soft tires, rising from 15th on the amended grid up to 12th after a battling opening phase.
Hulkenberg extended the stint longer than his nearest rivals, creeping into the top 10, before coming in on lap 21 for another set of softs, and then once more on lap 47, again for softs. Hulkenberg went on to complete the race in 12th place.
Up front World Champion Max Verstappen registered his 17th victory of the season for Red Bull Racing, ahead of McLaren Racing's Lando Norris, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in third.
Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: "Having a crash at the start involving both of our cars, it just shows which side lady luck is on currently. In the race, after Kevin retired, Nico was trying to do his best with the tires, trying to find a way around the degradation we have with our car. I think he did the best he could, and in the end, P12 was the best we could do."
Claudio Balestri (Chief Engineer - Vehicle Performance): "Today's target was to score points and close the gap to Williams, and we did it. The race wasn't an easy one because unfortunately, at the race start, following the Turn 1 incident, Daniel sustained damage on his rear wing from a flying tyre. We decided to stop him and repair the car quickly, while at the same time, the red flag was deployed, and we ended up one lap down with Daniel. Unfortunately, this was basically the end of his race. We sent him back out, waiting for a Safety Car or Red Flag, which never came. Nonetheless, he showed a very competitive pace and allowed us to gather valuable data while finishing P13. For Yuki, the race was different. He was lucky to remain out of trouble at the start and was P10 after the red flag. For the remaining part of the race, Yuki was fighting in the top ten. Unfortunately, we identified a potential clutch issue towards the end of the race, so to make sure we brought the car home, we decided to be conservative with his upshift settings. This meant Yuki was able to finish P9 and score points for the team. We now switch our focus towards the last two races of the season, with the target of improving our position in the Constructors' Championship."
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: A very unfortunate race for us. Alex got a very strong start and was immediately pressurising both Haas cars. Unfortunately, he was left with nowhere to go in the incident at T1 and retired before his race had really started. Having started ahead of the Alpha Tauris and the Alpines, it would've been interesting to see where he would've finished.
Logan had a cleaner race and used the safety car and red flag period to effectively run the entire race on Soft compound tyres. He raced well with the Alfa Romeos before they both retired and with further retirements was able to finish in P11 whilst controlling his pace to stay ahead of Hulkenberg.
Alpha Tauri were able to take a further 2 points out of our margin over them in the Championship. Whilst this is concerning, we were fortunate that they were unable to score more points today as their pace was very strong.
We have a brief break now before we go to Las Vegas for the first part of the final double-header. We still have a lead over our direct rivals and plenty of opportunity to defend that to the end of the season.
Max Verstappen has won the third edition of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The result was never really in any doubt, even if second placed Lando Norris finished within ten seconds of the winner and claimed the extra point for the race fastest lap, showing that McLaren has made great progress. Fernando Alonso stood on the third step of the podium with a display in the closing laps that had the crowd cheering on its feet, as he fought an incredible duel with Sergio Perez. It was a photo finish, the two men separated by just 53 thousandths of a second at the chequered flag.
This was Max's 52nd career win and his 17th of the season, thus setting a new record, with what is at the moment, an 85% success rate, beating the previous 75% record set by Alberto Ascari in 1952.
For the start, 19 drivers had chosen the Soft with seven of them going for a new set of C4. Sargeant was the only driver to start on the Medium. For the restart, after the first lap accident, which involved Albon, Magnussen, Piastri, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg, two drivers decided to change their approach to the race: Piastri went from Soft to Medium while Sargeant went in the opposite direction.
Of the 17 drivers who lined up for the second start, only Ocon made three stops, using three sets of C4 and one of C3. Everyone else went for the two-stop, with 15 drivers following the sequence C4-C3-C4, while Piastri used two sets of Soft after his first stint on the Medium.
Norris did the longest stint on the Medium (32 laps), and Piastri extended a Soft stint the most, going for 28 laps.
One interesting fact: the red flag on lap 3 actually allowed two drivers - Sargeant and Hulkenberg - to complete the entire race using only the Soft compound.
After a break of 41 years, Formula 1 returns to Las Vegas and a brand new track. From 16 to 18 November the cars will tackle the 6.201 kilometre street circuit that passes some of the most iconic landmarks on the famous Strip. For the Las Vegas Grand Prix the compound selection is as follows: C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow medium and the C5 as P Zero Red soft.
Mario Isola: "It was an action packed race, even before the start! In the end, the dominant force this season, Max Verstappen, took the win, but there was plenty of excitement, and how! Norris played his part, showing great pace so that he finished not that far behind the Red Bull driver and then Alonso and Perez had the crowd going wild with their duel in the closing stages, while there were also plenty of other interesting battles over the course of the race. All this on a track that is very hard on tyres, with significant degradation, so that the drivers had to work hard to manage them, but it certainly didn't stop them overtaking their rivals even towards the end of the stints.
"Strategy and tyre usage confirmed our predictions going into the race. The two-stop was the preferred choice of the vast majority of drivers, while the Soft was the tyre that saw the most use. In very similar weather to what we had in yesterday's Sprint, the C4, although requiring careful management, proved that, overall it performed better than the C3, especially because it ensured better grip and slid less. Almost everyone used the Medium in the middle stint, with lap numbers absolutely similar to those run on the Softs."
