2024 F1 Round 21 São Paulo GP: Verstappen wins from 17th in the rain, Alpine finish second and third, Tsunoda seventh

The 2024 Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix, round 21 of the season, concluded at a rain-soaked Interlagos in the early hours of 4 November, Beijing time. Max Verstappen produced a remarkable recovery from 17th on the grid to win by 19.477 seconds, taking his first victory in 11 races, since the Spanish Grand Prix in June. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished second and third for an unexpected double podium. Yuki Tsunoda, who had started from a career-best third, finished seventh to equal his best result of the season.

Rain returned to the circuit after the rescheduled qualifying session. The 69-lap race, shortened by two laps from the planned 71 following the start-procedure disruption, lasted more than two hours, with Verstappen’s winning time recorded as 2:06:54.430. There was one red flag, two Safety Car periods and one Virtual Safety Car. Five cars, including both Williams entries, did not finish, counting the non-starters and the disqualified car.

The race took several dramatic turns. Verstappen climbed to 11th on the opening lap and soon entered the points. On lap 27, Nico Hülkenberg went off and became stranded in the gravel, triggering a Virtual Safety Car and a flurry of pit stops. With the rain worsening, the Safety Car came out on lap 30, at which point Verstappen and both Alpines had yet to stop. Franco Colapinto crashed heavily on lap 32, bringing out the red flag and rewarding their decision to stay out. Verstappen had already risen to second before the stoppage, and Ocon remained in the lead when the race resumed.

On lap 40, Carlos Sainz spun off on his own at Turn 8 and hit the barrier, prompting the second Safety Car. At the restart, Verstappen immediately overtook Ocon for the lead. He then repeatedly set the fastest lap, taking the maximum 26 points, including the fastest-lap bonus, and extending his championship advantage over Norris to 62 points.

Alpine were the biggest winners in the wet. The A524 looked at home on the slippery circuit, and Ocon, who had also benefited from the red flag, finished second. Gasly held off early leader George Russell to take third. After scoring few points over the previous 20 rounds, Alpine collected 33 in a single race and jumped from ninth to sixth in the constructors’ standings. Russell, denied a podium, angrily complained over the radio that his team had not followed his advice to stay out. He ultimately finished fourth.

Pole-sitter Norris lost the lead to Russell at the start. Although team-mate Oscar Piastri later gave him back a position, he could manage only sixth, one place behind Charles Leclerc. After the race, the stewards also investigated him over the start-procedure confusion. Stroll had hit the barrier at Turn 4 during the formation lap, after which Race Control aborted the start and displayed the aborted-start signal. Norris nevertheless drove away from the front of the grid. He and Russell, who had been alongside him, each received a reprimand and a €5,000 fine, while Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, who also drove away, escaped punishment. The incident prompted an unnecessary additional formation lap, and the race distance was reduced by two laps.

Tsunoda also delivered a strong performance. Having started third, he lost the position to Ocon in the lap-27 Virtual Safety Car phase and subsequently slipped further back, but seventh, 42.056 seconds behind the winner, was enough to match his best result of the season and earn six points for RB. Team-mate Lawson added two points in ninth. Piastri was eighth, Lewis Hamilton tenth and Sergio Pérez 11th. Sainz and Colapinto crashed out after completing 38 and 30 laps respectively. Albon and Stroll could not start because of damage to their cars, while Hülkenberg was shown the black flag and disqualified after receiving outside assistance to return to the track.

Verstappen would head to Las Vegas with a 62-point lead, leaving Norris, who had finished only sixth, with a very slim chance of turning the championship around.