Max Verstappen has stormed to a remarkable victory in a frenetic Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the Dutchman climbing through the field from an original starting position of P17 to score his first race win since June amid changing weather conditions and huge drama along the way – which also saw Alpine score a double podium result.
The chaos started before the event had even got under way after Lance Stroll spun off during the formation lap, leading to some confusion over the aborted start procedure as pole-sitter Lando Norris led a number of cars away while others stayed on the grid, meaning that Norris, George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson will be investigated after the race for a start procedure infringement.
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When the Grand Prix did begin, Russell enjoyed a stronger launch and led from Norris while Verstappen worked his way through the pack in the early stages. As the event unfolded amid changing levels of rainfall, a red flag was thrown on Lap 33 following a crash for Franco Colapinto in the Williams – shortly after Russell and Norris had lost out by pitting just as a Virtual Safety Car period ended.
This meant that Esteban Ocon was leading from Verstappen and Pierre Gasly when the race resumed with a little over half distance remaining. But after another restart – following a Safety Car appearance due to a crash for Carlos Sainz – Verstappen surged into the lead and from there looked untouchable, the world champion going on to take the chequered flag with a margin of 19.477s.
It proved to be a dream day, meanwhile, for Alpine, with Ocon and Gasly holding on to P2 and P3 to score a double podium – resulting in the team making an extraordinary jump from ninth to sixth in the constructors’ standings.
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