Overtakes Everywhere - Brazil GP 2023 Recap
a DNF on the formation lap, a red flag on Lap 1, and constant wheel-to-wheel battles were just part of an epic weekend in São Paulo
Charles Leclerc failed to start Sunday’s race, Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez gave us an all time wheel-to-wheel battle, oh and Max won.
Saturday Sprint
Lando Norris qualified first for the sprint, but Max Verstappen started fast from P2 and dove down Lando’s inside with ease into Turn 1.
Lando settled into P2 as both Mercedes challenged Sergio Perez for P3.
Sergio and George Russell gave us one of the best fights of the sprint, going wheel-to-wheel through Turns 1 and 4 for multiple consecutive laps.
Ultimately, Checo held George off long enough to tax his tyres and expose Mercedes awful straight line speed (more on that later).
Lewis fell down the order late — Charles Leclerc passed him easily, but the real kicker came from Yuki Tsunoda. (!) Yuki nearly caught Hamilton without DRS following the Leclerc fight, then passed him easily down the main straight on the following lap. Watching an AlphaTauri ease by a Mercedes is an odd sight.
Carlos Sainz defended multiple cars with precision to keep the final point in P8 as Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri scrapped behind him.
Sunday Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc is, to quote the driver himself, “so fucking unlucky.”
Riding a string of great qualifying results and starting P2 on a grid where the inside line is golden, Charles lost control of his car on the formation lap as his hydraulics system failed and sent him spinning into the wall.
The race started with Max alone on the front row and the two Aston Martins behind him, but Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris both got great jumps.
The two Brits quickly pulled along the outside of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, respectively, and found themselves in P2 and P3 by the first corner.
Alexander Albon suffered an unlucky crash with both Haas cars that led to a quick Red Flag and restart.
Max cruised away at the restart with only Lando managing to stay (kinda) close.
Lando did not truly challenge Max, but he came about as close as anyone (including Checo) has all season.
Lando was within Max’s DRS on Lap 8 and made a fairly serious challenge. Max defended perfectly, but it was still cool to see a car in his mirrors.
Lando has established himself in a league of his own just behind Max these past few weeks. He’s still chasing his first win, but a double P2 weekend is as good as it gets otherwise.
Oscar Piastri struggled a bit more this weekend and was screwed a bit in the race by a funky rule that required him and Daniel Ricciardo to start a lap down after the Red Flag.
Aston Martin surged this weekend and took advantage of Mercedes struggles, finishing both cars in the top five.
Lance Stroll out qualified his teammate for the first time in a long time and ran a clean race to a P5 finish.
Fernando Alonso gave us one of the best battles of the year en route to a surprise podium.
Checo passed Lance early enough and bore down on Fernando with two laps to go.
Coming down the main straight at the start of the final lap, Checo had closed the gap enough and was bearing down with DRS. Fernando gave him space to pass into Turn 1, but took a sly defensive line clearly aiming to fight back at turn 4.
With both cars screaming side by side into Turn 4, Fernando used his overspeed and went brave on the brakes around the outside to stick the move.
Red Bull clearly had the pace advantage - Checo almost won the place back in a drag race on the final straight - but Fernando timed his move too perfectly and secured P3 with a photo finish.
Mercedes struggled on Sunday.
Lewis fell from his P5 starting spot to a P8 finish. That Mercedes is so draggy down the straights that Lewis was a sitting duck to the DRS-aided cars chasing him into Turn 1.
George had a tough weekend. After losing out on Saturday, he tried to stretch a P8 start and push as hard as he could in the GP. After ignoring pleas from his engineer to slow down and manage the wear on his car, George was forced to retire on Lap 57.
Other Notes:
Carlos Sainz finished P6 in the race and had an incognito but solid weekend.
Pierre Gasly had one of this best races of the year, snaking up the midfield and finishing P7.
AlphaTauri was fast all weekend. Yuki Tsunoda scored points both days and Daniel Ricciardo was more competitive than his zero points would suggest.
