Interlagos: The Ultimate Track Guide

Verstappen won the wet 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17^th on the grid, while Alpine secured an unlikely double podium result.

For the fourth year in succession, Interlagos hosted Formula 1’s Sprint format at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Due to illness, Kevin Magnussen was replaced by Ollie Bearman at Haas for the weekend.

Bearman impressed in Sprint Qualifying on Friday afternoon but a mistake in SQ3 saw him qualify no higher than tenth. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez were both eliminated in SQ2 but it was McLaren who were on form. Oscar Piastri secured pole for the Saturday race, heading a papaya front row lock-out.

At the start of the Sprint on Saturday, Piastri maintained his lead ahead of Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen challenged Charles Leclerc behind. The top four remained close throughout the opening stages, with the gap diminishing further as the Sprint progressed. On Lap 18 of 24, Verstappen finally made his move on Leclerc. That prompted a switch of position for the McLaren drivers.

Just after Nico Hulkenberg came to a halt out on track, Piastri allowed team-mate Norris through into the lead to help his championship challenge on Lap 22 – as had been expected heading into the race. A VSC was then deployed to clear the stricken Haas. Racing resumed on the final lap but Verstappen was not close enough to mount a serious challenge on the McLaren drivers. Norris claimed his first-ever Sprint victory and though Verstappen finished third on the road he was later demoted to fourth in the result after picking up a five-second penalty for an infringement under VSC conditions.

After the Sprint, the weather conditions became too wet to drive in. It meant that qualifying was postponed to Sunday morning. Despite the delay, it was still raining when qualifying took place at 7:30am – but the conditions were at least drivable.

The qualifying session saw no fewer than five red flag periods. Franco Colapinto – who had big support from Argentine fans in the grandstands – was first to crash out in Q1. Carlos Sainz crashed in Q2, necessitating a pit lane start, while Lance Stroll found himself in the barriers in the closing stages of the session. A red flag brought a slightly early end to Q2, with both Red Bulls exiting as a result.

There were further red flags in Q3, as Fernando Alonso crashed out and Alex Albon – who had set the early pace – crashed heavily at the end of the main straight. The damage to Albon’s car meant that he was unable to take part in the race. Lando Norris secured pole position in the unpredictable session, ahead of George Russell. Both RB drivers lined up in the top five, with Esteban Ocon on the second row with Alpine.

Verstappen headed into the weekend with a five-place grid penalty due to changes to his power unit, which dropped him to 17^th on the grid following his Q2 exit. There was an aborted start to the race after Lance Stroll got himself beached in the gravel on the formation lap.

Russell took the lead when the race eventually began, with plenty of midfield passes in the tricky damp conditions. Sergio Perez spun his Red Bull on the opening lap, dropping near the back of the field. Verstappen scythed his way into the top ten at the end of the main straight on Lap 2, while Bearman picked up a ten-second penalty following a collision with Colapinto.

Verstappen ran in the top seven by Lap 10 and continued his run through the field. Piastri and Liam Lawson made contact, with the McLaren driver receiving a ten-second penalty for the incident. Hulkenberg spun on Lap 27 leading to a Virtual Safety Car period. As the rain intensified, drivers began to pit for wet tyres, having started on intermediates. Norris passed Russell for what would have been the net lead, before the Safety Car was called out on Lap 31. One lap later, Colapinto crashed into the wall leading to a red flag period.

The red flag benefited those drivers – namely Ocon, Verstappen and Pierre Gasly – who had not yet pitted. During the red flag period, Hulkenberg was black-flagged as a result of receiving assistance from marshals when re-joining the track.

When racing resumed, it did so with Ocon as the race leader. Bearman nudged the barriers with a spin off track before Sainz’s race came to an end with a heavier hit into the barriers on Lap 39. It resulted in a Safety Car period, after which Ocon came under pressure from Verstappen. The Red Bull driver took the lead at Turn 1, while title rival Lando Norris slid off track and down to seventh place.

The order at the front would remain the same through to the chequered flag. Verstappen won from 17^th on the grid – the furthest back win in Formula 1 in almost 20 years. Alpine, who had not had a top eight finish in the previous 20 races, saw both cars finish in the top three. Leclerc and Russell followed them over the line, while polesitter Norris could finish no higher than sixth.

Verstappen took his 17^th win of the season at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix in a race which will be remembered for the last lap battle between Alonso and Perez.

Interlagos hosted the final Sprint weekend of the 2023 season, so qualifying for the Grand Prix took place under ever-darkening skies on Friday afternoon. Max Verstappen secured the fastest lap time in the opening minutes of Q3, while his closest challenger Oscar Piastri had an off-track excursion in the final sector before the heavens opened. Such was the intensity of the rain, the session was red-flagged.

The weather had brightened come the Sprint Shootout on Saturday morning. SQ1 was punctuated by a red flag period following a collision between Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, which saw the Alpine head into the barriers. McLaren’s pace was proving to be a challenge to Red Bull on Friday and that continued on Saturday. Lando Norris set the fastest lap time in SQ3 to take his first pole position – albeit for a Sprint rather than a Grand Prix – in over two years.

Norris and Verstappen lined up on the front row at the start of the Sprint and by Turn 1, Verstappen had taken the lead while both Mercedes drivers passed Sergio Perez through the opening corners. George Russell was soon on the tail of Norris’ McLaren and an audacious move saw him take second place, while Perez re-passed Lewis Hamilton for fourth.

On Lap 5, Norris re-took second place from Russell, while Perez followed the McLaren driver through three laps later; only for Russell to then re-pass him. At a track which famously promotes overtaking, there were plenty of passes taking place throughout the field.

Despite Norris closing to nearly within DRS range of Verstappen with around ten laps of the Sprint remaining, the race leader extended his advantage slightly and secured the final Sprint win of the year. Perez finished third, with Russell fourth and both Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda passing Hamilton in the closing stages.

Charles Leclerc crashed on his way to the grid ahead of Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix. That meant that Verstappen was the only front row starter, giving him a clear run to Turn 1 as race leader. Further back, there was a collision between Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen, which eliminated both drivers from the race. Daniel Ricciardo’s rear wing was hit by debris, causing damage.

The red flag was shown as a result of the crash, under which repairs could take place to the damaged cars which had not retired – namely Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri. Both drivers were shown as a lap down when racing resumed.

The race restarted with a standing start on Lap 4. This time, Verstappen had Norris on the front row alongside him but was still able to hold a comfortable lead. Fernando Alonso made up a position, passing Hamilton for third at Turn 4.

Norris remained on Verstappen’s tail and challenged him for the lead at the start of Lap 8. The challenge was fruitless and the McLaren soon dropped out of DRS range. Perez and Russell went wheel-to-wheel on Lap 14 as the Red Bull driver made up a position. He gained another four laps later, this time passing the other Mercedes.

The Mercedes drivers continued to lose positions on a day to forget, while Verstappen continued to extend his lead out at the front. Russell retired on Lap 59. The latter stages were dominated by a battle for the final podium position between Perez and Alonso. Alonso had held his position despite intense pressure from the Mexican until the final lap. Perez got ahead midway around the lap only to be passed once more by Alonso in a drag race to the finish line.

Alonso secured third place by just 0.053 seconds, while Verstappen claimed his 17^th Grand Prix victory of the 2023 season by finishing eight seconds ahead of Norris.

A thrilling race weekend at Interlagos saw Magnussen and Haas take their maiden pole position, while Russell dominated the race to take his first Formula 1 victory.

Wet weather crept in over Interlagos as Friday’s qualifying session began. The session began in wet conditions, but drivers had switched to slick compounds by the end of Q1. While Q2 stayed mostly dry, showers towards the end of the session set up a thrilling Q3. 

Kevin Magnussen set the fastest time early on in the session, which was red flagged just 60 seconds later as George Russell beached his Mercedes in the gravel in worsening conditions. The rain continued and when the session resumed no drivers were able to improve their lap time – meaning Magnussen and the Haas team took their first ever pole position in Formula 1.

Magnussen started Saturday’s Sprint at Interlagos from the front of the grid and was able to hold off Max Verstappen in the opening laps. The Red Bull took the lead on Lap 3. Behind them, the two Alpine drivers made contact multiple times on the opening lap and both dropped out of the top ten in the final order as a result. 

Alpine weren’t the only team with unhappy team-mates, with Lance Stroll causing team-mate Sebastian Vettel to take avoiding action. The incident earned Stroll a ten-second penalty. Back at the front, Magnussen began to drop down the order with George Russell and Carlos Sainz passing the Haas in quick succession. Magnussen eventually finished the Sprint eighth.

On Lap 12 of 24, Russell went wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen for the lead. He couldn’t immediately find a way by but, after a three lap scrap, Russell took the lead and with it secured the pole position grid slot for Sunday’s race. Verstappen soon came under pressure from Sainz. The Ferrari passed and the Red Bull picked up front wing damage. Lewis Hamilton capitalised and moved up to third – which became a front row start thanks a power unit penalty for Sainz. 

The Mercedes took a healthy lead at the start, while Friday’s star Magnussen was eliminated on the opening lap in a collision with Daniel Ricciardo. That prompted a Safety Car deployment. At the restart, Verstappen made a move on Hamilton for second place only to run out of road and earn himself a time penalty. 

McLaren’s bad day continued as Lando Norris made contact with Charles Leclerc – the Ferrari driver lucky to be able to continue in the race.  Norris also picked up a penalty for the incident but would retire later in the race with gearbox issues. 

Hamilton dropped down the field in his incident with Verstappen but soon made up positions and took the lead when his team-mate pitted. The more experienced Mercedes driver had to pass Sergio Perez on track for second place.

A further Safety Car period for Norris’ stoppage enabled Sainz – one of few drivers on a three-stop strategy – to make an effective final stop, putting him in contention for a podium finish. The Spaniard passed Perez with eight laps remaining. 

Out at the front, Russell held off team-mate Hamilton to take the maiden victory of his Formula 1 career. Mercedes recorded their first 1-2 finish in over two years, while British drivers finished first and second for the first time since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix. This was Mercedes’ only victory in the 2022 season.

Verstappen made up positions in the final stages as Perez dropped position in the later laps. Verstappen got ahead of his team-mate and was expected to let him back past at the final corner to aid the Mexican’s battle for second in the standings. Verstappen failed to oblige.