Five Formula 1 Winners & Losers: Brazilian Grand Prix

Photo from XPBimages

Interlagos is one of my favorite tracks and always one of my favorite races.

Yesterday was no different, except I didn’t get to watch. Because I was moving.

Which stinks.

But that’s what F1 TV is for!

So here are the five Formula 1 Winners & Losers from the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Losers

5. Alexander Albon

Albon’s qualifying effort was excellent, as he got the Williams car into Q3.

But in Q3, he crashed the car so bad that Williams was unable to even get it fixed, and he couldn’t take part in the grand prix.

From a great start, to not starting at all.

4. Nico Hulkenberg

Hulkenberg, and Haas in general, were red hot heading into Brazil.

But this was a weekend to forget for Nico.

A terrible qualifying effort had him start 19th, and then after track workers helped him on the track, was disqualified from the race itself.

3. Sergio Perez

Once again, I’m not expecting miracle jobs from Checo.

The Red Bull isn’t the fastest car, and he’s not one of the best drivers on the grid.

Still, you can maybe do better than starting 11th and finishing 11th.

Just a thought.

2. Lance Stroll

Gravel traps in Formula 1 are designed to slow down a car going full speed so they don’t fly into the wall dangerously.

So, it was a little strange to watch Lance Stroll drive directly into it going about 40 miles per hour on the formation lap.

You’ll never believe this, but he got stuck! And couldn’t start the race!

Just bizarre.

1. Lando Norris

The championship battle is over.

Lando likely wouldn’t have won, but it’s for sure over now.

And after the race, Lando pointed to Red Bull’s zero stop strategy waiting for the red flag, and helping Max Verstappen massively.

And that’s fair! Sometimes, the luck bounces the other way, and on Sunday, it bounced towards Max Verstappen.

But Max Verstappen wasn’t the driver who started first and lost the lead once again off the line.

Verstappen wasn’t the driver who lost positions to George Russell by losing control and driving off the track, and later losing a position to his teammate before swapping back due to team orders.

That was all Lando Norris.

So he can pin it on the luck if he wants to, but it was not a champions drive from Lando Norris today.

It wasn’t even close.

Winners

5. Charles Leclerc

Leclerc finished ahead of Norris.

If Leclerc wants to finish 2nd in the championship, that will surely help.

4. George Russell

It feels like Russell has been 2nd best at Mercedes this year behind Lewis Hamilton, even though the points gap wasn’t massive.

But now, Russell is ahead of Hamilton in the points, because of a great wet weather performance from Russell to finish 4th, while Lewis Hamilton finished 10th.

That had to be a confidence boost.

3. Visa Cash App Red Bull

After a couple of great races from Haas, it felt like 6th in the constructors standings was all but theirs.

But Haas had a bad race on Sunday, and VCARB capitalized on it massively (as did another team).

Yuki Tsunoda had an amazing qualifying session, starting the car 3rd and finishing 7th, while teammate Liam Lawson came home 9th.

Now, VCARB are only two points behind Haas.

It’s anyone’s place.

2. Alpine

This year began as a year from hell for Alpine.

The car sucked. The drivers didn’t get along. It just felt like a complete disaster.

But man, Brazil was a day to remember.

Esteban Ocon, with only 4 races left for the team, finished 2nd, while teammate Pierre Gasly finished 3rd.

A double podium for Alpine, and 33 points which jumps them up to a total of 49.

Alpine went from 8th to 6th in the standings in one race.

Incredible job.

The post race interview with Gasly and Ocon was very sweet as well.

1. Max Verstappen

Again, call it luck if you want to.

But Max Verstappen started 17th on the grid, (technically 15th due to Albon and Stroll not starting, and was 10th at the end of the first lap.

Sure, the red flag came out at a time that gave him the win, but even if the red flag never came out, he was still going to finish the race in a great spot.

Because he’s a three time world champion.

He’s the best in the sport right now, and it frankly is not close.