The second last round of the season threw the F1 caravan to iconic Interlagos in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Johnny Herbert of Great Britain and driver of the n.20 Benetton B188 Ford V8 poses for a portrait, with a girl wearing a bikini, on the beach in Rio de Janeiro after practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix on 25th March 1989 at the Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet Jacarepagua circuit near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by Pascal Rondeau / Getty Images.
Model Bar Refaeli is seen in the Red Bull Racing garage before the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 27, 2011 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Mark Thompson / Getty Images.
Although both championships had already been secured, the weekend was extremely eventful, action-packed and threw some surprises.
The Ferrari hommage to Mauro Forghieri.
Bernie Ecclestone and Fabiana Ecclestone walk in the paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 10, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Mark Thompson / Getty Images.
It started to drizzle right ahead of the qualifying, which took place on Friday already.
Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo and Finland with his girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell of Australia during practice / qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 11, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Peter J Fox / Getty Images.
The rain didn't last for long, so it all came down to the right timing to switch to the slicks. AlphaTauri's Gasly made the decision with perfect timing, opposite to Ferrari, whose tyre call proved a mess.
Charles Leclerc in the pits. Photo by Ferrari.
Charles was in his pit box, but there were no fresh softs ready for the Monegasque. In the end, both red-suited drivers were surprisingly low in the standings, Charles being in P12 and Carlos in P14.
Alhough the sky turned dark grey towards the end of Q2, the second session was completed on the softs. It was super tight between the top three, as world champion Verstappen and the Ferrari duo of Carlos and Charles were all within 0.069s. Interlagos proved to be one of the venues, where Haas showed improved performance, as Magnussen made it stunning P7 in the second segment.
Charles Leclerc driving. Photo by Ferrari.
As Q3 got underway with an imminent threat of more rain coming, Charles in his SF75 was the only driver on the intermediates, which proved to be a wrong call right away. The Monegasque set no time, as he pitted for slicks. Then the qualifying got a dramatic turn. Russell in his Mercedes hit the white line, which was slippery and the Briton went off. When he tried to spin his car around, he unfortunately got stuck on the gravel, and the session was red-flagged, with 8 minutes remaining in the clock.
Carlos Sainz under a Ferrari umbrella. Photo by Ferrari
At this point there was Haas' Magnussen topping the standings, with Verstappen second, Russell third, Norris fourth and Sainz fifth. Perez and Leclerc, who are still intensely fighting for the second place in the drivers' championship, were down in P9 and P10. The heavens opened during the red flag, which meant, that Magnussen took his maiden pole position for Haas, which was a delightful surprise indeed.
Bernie Ecclestone and Fabiana Ecclestone walk on the grid during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 12, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Mark Thompson / Getty Images.
Stefano Domenicali, CEO of the Formula One Group and Fabiana Ecclestone look on from the grid during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 12, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images.
The starting point to the Saturday's Sprint was extremely interesting, as Verstappen opted for the medium compound, opposite to his closest rivals. Magnussen on pole took a dream start and surprisingly the Dane was able to hold on to his lead. Verstappen instead, had difficulties to maintain his second place due to his tyre choice. On lap three, however, Max executed an expected overtaking move on the Dane and took the race lead. As expected, Haas couldn't match the top teams' race pace and, on lap three, also Russell squeezed his Mercedes past the Dane. By lap 9 he had already dropped down to P6, as Sainz, Hamilton and Perez had all overtaken struggling Magnussen.
Charles Leclerc. Photo by Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc. Photo by Ferrari.
At the halfway point of the Sprint Russell was putting serious pressure on race leader Verstappen. The two were racing wheel-to-wheel, but Max managed to position his RB18 perfectly to defend his lead. Three laps later Russell finally managed to execute his overtaking move and passed Max to take the lead. According to Russell's own words, it was the very first time for him this season, that he has actually overtaken Max's Red Bull. Verstappen didn't have the pace he would have wanted and, on lap 19, also Sainz in his Ferrari moved ahead of the Dutchman. During the overtaking move Verstappen's front wing got damage, which didn't help the struggling Red Bull ace. Also Mercedes' Hamilton saw his chance and forced an overtaking move on Max, who had now dropped out of the podium.
Carlos Sainz on the podium of the sprint race. Photo by Ferrari.
Russell crossed the finish line as the Sprint winner, with Sainz second and Hamilton third. Verstappen had to settle for P4, with teammate Perez 5th and Leclerc 6th. McLaren's Norris, who had suffered from a food poisoning, finished 7th ahead of pole-setter Magnussen, who finally managed to score one point. The pecking order was to be revised for Sunday, as Carlos had been handed a 5-place grid penalty due to a power unit element change. This dropped the Spaniard down to P7, promoting Hamilton on the front row alongside his teammate Russell. Mercedes had just given their competitors a storm warning for the race.
A general view of the Ayrton Senna statue at the circuit prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Chris Graythen / Getty Images.
Entertainers perform on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images.
An entertainer performs on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Mario Renzi / Formula 1 via Getty Images.
Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari waves to the crowd on the drivers’ parade prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Chris Graythen / Getty Images.
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes waves to the crowd on the drivers’ parade prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images.
Charles Leclerc. Photo by Ferrari.
Russell on pole had the perfect momentum.
George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG F1 Team W13 leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG F1 Team W13 during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images.
He gave his rivals no opportunity to challenge him for the lead and Hamilton followed his teammate closely. Norris in his McLaren dived into the inside of Perez, but the Mexican managed to hang on to his fourth place behind his teammate. Further down in the pack Ricciardo hit the back of Magnussen's Haas and the Dane's sliding car crashed back into Ricciardo's McLaren. The race was over for both drivers and safety car was deployed.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing and The Netherlands and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Great Britain clash at turn 2 during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Peter J. Fox / Getty Images.
As soon as the restart took place, there was more drama. Verstappen tried an adventurous overtaking move on Hamilton, but the Dutchman's over optimistic move led into contact between the two, Max breaking his front wing. Max had no choice but to pit for a new nose. The collision dropped Hamilton down by several positions, but in a few laps only the 7-time world champion had made his way up to P6.
Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Ferrari F1-75 and Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL36 Mercedes battle for track position during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images.
The restart proved costly for Charles as well. Norris crashed into Charles' SF75, which slided into the wall due to the impact.
Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Ferrari F1-75 spins during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images.
Charles, too had to make an extra pit stop to continue. Both Norris and Verstappen were handed a 5-second time penalty for causing the collisions.
Carlos in his Ferrari had overtaken Norris and jumped third. Hamilton, too was rapidly moving forward. First he passed Vettel in his Aston Martin to take P5, and the next target was compatriot Norris. Hamilton executed another successful overtaking move, which entitled him to P4 already. Carlos opened the pit stop roulette from P3, in spite of the fact, that he had started to the race on the medium Pirellis. The pit stop dropped the Spaniard down to P12, but momentarily only.
After the first pit stops Russell still had a strong lead in the race. Perez in his RB18 was second, Sainz third and Hamilton fourth. Alpine's Alonso had had a stunning start to the race from P17, the double world champion being now 5th in the race.
Charles Leclerc at the pits. Photo by Ferrari.
Charles, on the other hand, was down in P13 and Verstappen in even more modest P16.
Mercedes showed outstanding race pace and Hamilton had insidiously closed the gap to Perez on the second half of the race. The Briton's first overtaking move didn't pay off, but Perez was under consistent and immense pressure. Hamilton stroke again on the sequential lap, this time making it ahead of Perez. Unbelievable but true, Mercedes now had a double lead in the race.
With 20 laps to go, Norris' McLaren was hit with a technical failure and it came to a halt on the track side.
The 2 Ferraris racing. Photo by Ferrari.
Virtual safety car came out, which Ferrari utilised by calling Sainz in for his second pit stop. Soon the virtual safety turned into safety car. This made things extremely interesting towards the end of the race. Russell and Hamilton were in the double lead, Perez was third, Sainz fourth, Bottas fifth, Leclerc sixth and Vettel seventh. At this point Verstappen had made his way up to P10.
Preparing for the restart, Russell was told on the team radio, that he was free to race his teammate, but mutual respect had to be there. The biggest losers at the restart were Alfa Romeo's Bottas and Aston Martin's Vettel, who were on medium Pirellis, whilst their rivals around them were on fresh softs. In only a couple of laps the Finn dropped from P5 down to P9. Verstappen made a superb double overtake by passing both Bottas and Alpine's Ocon. Sainz, on the other hand, squeezed his Ferrari past Perez's Red Bull to lay his hands on the podium. Perez had it difficult, as Ferrari teammate Leclerc made his way past the Mexican as well. A couple of laps later it was Alonso's turn to overtake struggling Perez. Now the Red Bull teammates were in a row in P6 and P7.
With four laps to go, Perez let his teammate through, so that Max could take the battle to Alonso and Leclerc. As Max proved unable to do so, the team told their number one driver to let Perez past him before the chequered flag. Verstappen had already secured his world title and the team had secured the constructors' title as well. But for Perez every single point counted, as he was in an extremely tight battle for the second place with Charles. Against the odds, Verstappen refused to let his teammate through in cold blood due to "the reasons he had given the team last summer". Perez's comment on the team radio was revealing. He said, that by doing that Max showed who he really was.
Race winner George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images.
Race winner George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Mario Renzi / Formula 1 via Getty Images.
Race winner George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes reacts in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Dan Istitene / Formula 1 via Getty Images.
Russell took his maiden win in Formula 1 and Hamilton made the day perfect for the Silver Arrows by securing 1-2 for the team.
Race winner George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes, second placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes, third placed Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari and Riccardo Musconi, senior Mercedes race engineer, celebrate on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Chris Graythen / Getty Images.
Sainz brought Ferrari's colours on the podium, finishing third ahead of his teammate. Alonso's performance was eye-catching, as the Spaniard finished 5th ahead of the disagreeing Red Bull teammates of Verstappen and Perez.
Now there's one more round to go, the season-ending spectacle in Abu Dhabi. Charles and Perez share the second place in the drivers' championship standings. In terms of this result, Charles has the upper hand on his rival, having more victories than Perez this season. So there will be plenty of excitement and tension in the air for the very final round!
With passion for racing red,
Iina Huhmarniemi
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