Luke’s Weekend Review – Brazilian GP 2024

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Brazilian GP 2024: Verstappen Triumphs from 17th, Alpine Secures Double Podium in Rain-Soaked Race

Brazil Podium 2024

Round 21 is over and the last triple header of the 2024 season is done. What a race we had, there was action happening all over the grid and there has been as much drama as qualifying as well.

We start by looking at Carlos Sainz taking new power unit components and breaking Parc Ferme and because of that we will see Carlos Sainz starting the race from the pit lane after his crash earlier in qualifying. The other news we got is that unfortunately Williams were not able to get Alex Albon’s car repaired after his big crash in qualifying and he will not be taking part of the race.

Track is still wet but not currently raining however we got news that rain was on the way in 20 minutes which meant all drivers was on the intermediate tyres for the start. The drivers head off for the formation lap and this is when the drama started, we cut to shot of Lance Stroll in the barriers, he locked up the rear and spun in the barriers. Stroll seemed to have got going again which sounded like good news as a new front wing would have fixed any damage, however when Stroll got going, he decided that going over the gravel was a bright idea and ended up beaching the car and out of the race. The race got aborted and the drivers went for an additional formation lap, but little did we know that this wasn’t supposed to happen and not all drivers went straight away until the pit wall instructed them to. Lando Norris, George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson get noted for going on this extra formation lap and will be investigated after the race.

After a 10 minute delay we do see the drivers go on an actual other formation lap and on this lap we hear Norris report that is has started spitting down a bit. After the formation lap all remaining 18 drivers lined up on their grid boxes and at lights out, we see Norris get a good start but on the 2nd stage of the start he got some wheel spin, and this put him a bit on the back foot. This allowed Russell to get side by side with him and by Turn 1 we see Russell slip into the lead. Slightly behind we see Esteban Ocon try to overtake Tsunoda and Lawson also had a look on the outside however Tsunoda was able to hold 3rd place as Ocon slotted back into 4th while Lawson got a bit out of shape and Charles Leclerc jumped at this opportunity and went past him. Sergio Perez managed to spin a bit on the 1st lap by himself and he was able to get back going quickly but dropped to last place.

Max Verstappen who started this race in 17th grid spot but if you take out Albon and Stroll, technically he was 15th but it still doesn’t take any credit away from Verstappen as by the end of Lap 1 he was up to P10 and into the points as he overtakes Lewis Hamilton into Turn 1. On Lap 3 we hear Sainz reporting heavy rain in Sector 3 and Red Bull inform Verstappen that this rain intensity will last 2-3 minutes. This didn’t stop him however from making more overtakes as on Lap 5 he was able to get up to P9 as he overtakes Pierre Gasly and on Lap 6, he was able to get the same move done on Fernando Alonso and up to P8. On Lap 9 he had managed to catch up to Oscar Piastri and by Lap 10 he was able to go for a late lunge into Turn 1 and up to P7. Liam Lawson was next up for Verstappen and a lap later on Lap 11 he was also past him with ease as Lawson looked like he just moved out of his way.

Oliver Bearman was under investigation on Lap 7 for a Turn 10 incident he had where he hit the back of Franco Colapinto’s Williams car, and this spun Bearman around and lost a few places. This was noted by the stewards and Bearman got a 10 second penalty but Bearman questioned this and rightly pointed out that Colapinto lost no time, so he thought the penalty was a bit harsh. Lewis Hamilton was really not having a great time as on Lap 9 we hear him complain saying that the car is very bad and bouncing a lot. Lap 12 we also see Hamilton go off on the last corner, he comes back on but he is immediately under pressure from Colapinto, with a healthy slip stream Colapinto was able to get past Hamilton but Hamilton didn’t make it easy as the pair were side by side into Turns 1,2 &3 but in the end, Colapinto was ahead.

At the front, Norris was still in 2nd place on Lap 16, and he was saying how hard it is to overtake Russell as the McLaren didn’t seem to have any straight line speed as a bit behind we see Verstappen close in on Leclerc for 5th place. On Lap 18 we do see Norris go on a bit of a charge on Russell as he closes in the gap, but Russell seemed to have him covered. Lap 22 we see Verstappen go for a move on Leclerc, however Leclerc saw him coming and covered him off. This battle went on for a while until on Lap 25, Ferrari call Leclerc in for fresh inters and he goes from 5th to 13th after the stop. Lap 23 we get news that both Mercedes drivers were under investigation due to changing tyre pressures while on the grid while the wheels were still on the car. This issue was investigated after the race and Mercedes got fined €5,000 for each incident.

On Lap 25 we see Lawson going off track and loses 3 places which seemed like he locked up, however on a replay we see that Piastri and him had a collision which led to Lawson going off track. Piastri does get a 10 second penalty for this due to him causing a collision. On Lap 27 we see Nico Hulkenberg beached at Turn 1 on the drains and the VSC comes out to neutralise the race. This was an invitation for most drivers to come into the pits and get on fresh inters in order to get a cheap stop. Hulkenberg seemed to get going again and went to the pits and himself and Perez opted to go for the full wets. On Lap 29 while still under VSC we also see Russell and Norris pit from 1st and 2nd, however as they start coming in, the VSC ends and the pair come back out in 4th and 5th behind Gasly, Verstappen and Ocon who was currently in the lead.

Red Flag Drama and Strategic Pivots Highlight Unforgettable Brazilian GP as Verstappen Dominates

On Lap 30 we see Norris finally getting past Russell into Turn 4 which meant the new inters were working well for Norris but shortly after the Safety Car comes out due to standing water on the track. It’s worth noting that at this stage of the race on Lap 32 we have Alpine running a 1-3 as Ocon is leading and our biggest winners so far are Verstappen and Gasly who both made up 15 and 10 places respectively so far.

Under the Safety Car we see Franco Colapinto crash his Williams coming out the last corner and this crash was quite bad as he went into the barriers. This caused the race to be Red Flagged and this was a massive advantage to Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly mainly along with any other driver who didn’t pit under the VSC as it meant that they could change their tyres for free essentially without losing any time under the pits. Russell was really unhappy with this as he was telling the team that the race will be Red flagged, and they shouldn’t pit, and this cost him the lead of the race.

During the Red Flag we get news that Hulkenberg received a Black Flag which disqualified him from the race, this was because when his car was beached, he had received help form the Marshalls to get back going and this is against the rules and regulations. This is the first Black Flag since the Canadian race in 2007. Race control also advised that once the weather clears, we will be getting a rolling start.

At the restart we do see Ocon manage to nail the restart as he was able to hold off Verstappen as he took the opportunity while there were Yellow Flags as Bearman went off momentarily in Sector 3. On the Restart going into Turn 4 on Lap 34 we see Norris go straight at Turn 4 as he locks up a bit. This invited Russell to get back past into 4th. On Lap 36 we see Bearman going off on Turn 7 once more as he attacks Sainz, Bearman hits the barriers a bit but manages to get going again.

At the front we see Ocon doing very well as he had pulled a 3.3 second gap to Verstappen by Lap 37 which was very good but on lap 39, we see Verstappen close up the gap a bit. On Lap 39 we hear Norris get a message saying that if the weather stays like this, it will be on the same tyres till the end and it will be all about the tyre conditions at the end. This was interrupted by Sainz going into the barriers at Turn 8 as he touched the kerb a bit and lose the rear. He does manage to get going again but he parks up on the side of the track and is out of the race. this brought out the Safety Car once more.

On Lap 42 the Safety Car is ending and Ocon will have to survive another restart. Ocon goes at a similar spot he did last time but Verstappen was ready for this on this occasion and by Turn 1 we see Verstappen in the lead. Leclerc also manages to get up to 4th as he gest past Russell and Norris drops to 7th as he went off at Turn 1 and went wide, he joins behind his teammate in 7th and on Lap 46 McLaren do ask Piastri to swap and Piastri complies immediately. Norris was trying to do damage limitation here for the championship however at the front, Verstappen seem to have checked out as he was setting fastest lap after fastest lap in the closing stages of this race.

On Lap 54 we see Perez go for a move on Lawson however he was a bit far behind but on Lap 55 he goes for the move again and was side by side with Lawson in Turn 1. Lawson didn’t give up this place easy and stays in it and Perez has to back off. Perez goes for the move into Turn 4 and ends up going wide and Hamilton goes through into P10. On Lap 67 we hear Fernando Alonso come on the radio saying that he will finish the race for the mechanics for all the hard work they did in order to get the car ready after qualifying crash, but he said that his back is killing him due to the bumps.

At the end we see Max Verstappen take the chequered flag by 19 seconds followed by Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson and Lewis Hamilton form the Top 10. Piastri was not 10 seconds ahead of Tsunoda so drops to 8th and Tsunoda to 7th. Max Verstappen also had the fastest lap and Driver of the Day for coming back to win this race from 17th place which was quite an impressive drive. In the end after the race we do see Russell and Norris get a €5,000 fine and a reprimand for going on another formation lap against the rules, so this didn’t impact the result of the race.

Who do you think was the biggest winners and the biggest losers of the Brazilian GP? I feel like McLaren really dropped the ball today with the pitstop under VSC as Verstappen was able to get an 18 point advantage today and the Championship battle seems to be over now unless something major happens. Alpine on the other had were big winners here in Brazil with a double podium. We head now into a 2 week break before we return for the last race in America for the Las Vegas GP.

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