The triple world champion is on his way to a fourth F1 title, surely the greatest driver of his generation. PETER COSTER reports on the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Back in Dallas in 1984, qualifying was so early in the morning after a rain delay that Jaques Lafitte turned up to drive in his pyjamas.
On Sunday in Brazil, the drivers were there as dawn was breaking and should have brought their bathers.
Interlagos is named after the lakes on either side of a circuit that on Sunday resembled an inland sea.
It proved, once again, that racing in the wet sorts out the best from the rest.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen gave a master class, starting at the back of the grid after a penalty for changing engines, and winning by nearly 20 seconds.
The three-times world champion drove with a fury that saw him pass competitors who found themselves drowning in his wake.
The Brazilian Grand Prix, the last of a triple header before a three-week break, saw cars destroyed as they aqua-planed off the rain-washed track.
Fortunately, no one was injured but red-eyed mechanics laboured into the night trying to repair the damage.
Williams saw their two cars virtually destroyed, unable to get one to the starting grid, only to see the other destroyed in the race itself.
As of writing, the cash-strapped team would not have a car to offer Carlos Sainz, who leaves Ferrari for Williams next year.
The team might find it easier to sell the Spaniard to Red Bull, who are looking for a replacement for the out-of-form Sergio Perez.
They would then be able to offer a seat to Argentine driver Franco Colapinto, who is one of the new wave of young drivers looking for a seat in F1 next year.
“There was a big river before the straight and I lost control,” said the 21-year-old.” It brought out one of five red flags and saw Verstappen and Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly pit for fresh tyres without losing position.
Lando Norris in the McLaren and and George Russell in the Mercedes lost the lead when they pitted earlier.
Verstappen and the Alpine pair eventually shared the podium and renewed an argument over drivers being able to get what amounts to a free pit stop under a safety car.
Ocon and Gasly were ecstatic and the Alpine team suddenly found itself with a potential $50 million windfall in the points cash carve-up at the end of the season.
It was also maximum points for Verstappen in the race for the drivers’ championship.
Red Bull has dropped behind McLaren and Ferrari in the constructors’ championship, but Verstappen’s win in Brazil has virtually ended the McLaren driver’s chances of taking out the driver’s world championship.
McLaren leads the constructors’ on 593 from Ferrari on 557, with Red Bull on 544. Verstappen leadss the drivers’ championship on 393 from Lando Norris on 331 and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on 307.
The silly season in the driver market has started in earnest with RB junior driver Yuki Tsunoda now well in the mix.
The fiesty Japanese star finished seventh in Brazil behind Norris and ahead of Oscar Piastri after showing his best form against Daniel Ricciardo.
Tsunoda consistently out qualified the Australian multiple GP winner at RB.
Ricciardo was expected to dominate, but the opposite was the case and put an end to his hopes of replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
Liam Lawson, who took Ricciardo’s seat at RB after standing in for him after the Honey Badger’s crash at Zandvoort, is now being suggested as a possible replacement for Perez.
A clash of the young antipodean drivers came on Sunday when Piastri in the McLaren nudged Lawson in the RB, sending him into a spin before later apologising.
It was more than Perez got from Lawson after a clash with the New Zealander in Mexico last week when he gave him the rude finger.
Lawson at 22 and Piastri at 23 are very much at the forefront of the young chargers.
Then there is Yuki Tsunoda at 24 and Kimi Antonelli, who has just turned 18 and is expected to drive alongside George Russell at Mercedes next year.
This year’s record 24 GPs, plus random sprint races, has tested teams to their physical limits.
Mechanics rebuilding cars following practice and qualifying shunts are visibly exhausted.
Drivers, too, are feeling the effects of countless hours on the simulator as teams travel the world, the rich ones on private jets.
The F1 commentator teams are rotating the pundits.
Nevertheless, some once familiar faces can be still seen.
Brazilian double world champion Emerson Fittipaldi turns 78 next month and Bernie Ecclestone, who once owned Formula One, was also among the grid crowd.
The former F1 supremo is 94 and still enjoying the roar of the engines and the smell of the crowd.
2024 Grand Prix of Bazil Results
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time/retired |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 06:54.4 |
| 2 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | +19.477s |
| 3 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | +22.532s |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | +23.265s |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +30.177s |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | +31.372s |
| 7 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | +42.056s |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | +44.943s |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | RB Honda RBPT | +50.452s |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +50.753s |
| 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | +51.531s |
| 12 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | +57.085s |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | +63.588s |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +78.049s |
| 15 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | +79.649s |
| NC | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | DNF |
| NC | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes | DNF |
| NC | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | DNS |
| NC | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | DNS |
| DQ | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | DSQ |
PETER COSTER is a former editor and foreign correspondent who has covered a range of international sports, including world championship fights and the Olympic Games.
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