Lando Norris survived, in the dry and in the wet, to secure his second consecutive victory at Interlagos, where on Saturday he had signed his third pole in three years. The British champion, favored by the problems of Andrea Kimi Antonelli when the halfway point of the race had not yet been met, kept Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar far from his radar. Two Red Bulls on the podium, like in Baku. The evidence that in this championship the cards were fairly well distributed, although only Antonelli knew how to play them on the table.
Verstappen's comeback, from the penultimate place on the grid to second at the finish line, earned him the award for best driver of the day. Another step to conquer the runner-up position, because he now leads George Russell by 17 points, seventh this time at the finish line. Not a single Sunday does the British hit the key. His hardships are as constant as those of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz. In Interlagos, the two-time champion finished twelfth, after an exhausting battle. The Madrid native, who was also pining for wet conditions, could only finish nineteenth.
On a much less soaked asphalt than expected, Alonso's options disappeared from the start. The Aston Martin leader could do nothing to maintain his eighth position on the grid, nor to contemplate returning home with a point. So, after losing seven positions, the only pleasure he could give himself came on the tenth lap, with an overtake on Lewis Hamilton on the outside of turn 6.
The champion's tops
The Asturian still wanted to harass Charles Leclerc, somewhat tense after a couple of previous hot flashes against his Ferrari teammate. Hamilton was the first to get rid of the rain intermediates, on lap 15, to mount the soft ones. An undercut that offered clues to the rest of the favorites.
Although it was one thing to choose the ideal strategy and another to approach Antonelli. The new champion, at that time, controlled with his usual sufficiency. At the start he had shaken off Norris, keeping Liam Lawson out of reach. The Italian gained an eight-second advantage over the Mercedes leader, until on lap 20, he spun at the end of the finish line.
Something was happening in Kimi's W18, because a couple of laps later he suffered another whiplash in Turn 1 that made him lose the position to Hadjar. Tire temperature or a suspension setback? Whatever the problem, Antonelli lost the line again on Senna's S, giving way to Verstappen.
The four-time champion, who had started second to last after changing several elements of his engine, thus reached a provisional podium position. However, something was happening with his Red Bull, because he entered poorly at the end of the straight. And we didn't know the reason, since his radio was also part of the problem. Whatever it was, Norris was very grateful, leading the race without any problems from Hadjar.
Ferrari's vulgarity
It was a great day for the Red Bull galaxy, with its subsidiary also setting the tone. Lawson, in sixth place, clouded any hope for George Russell, while Arvid Lindblad, fighting for the points after starting from eighteenth place. This excellence of Racing Bulls contrasted with the vulgarity of Ferrari. Hamilton could do nothing, in his 400th F1 race, to give satisfaction to his crooked Brazilian.
With so many cars out of position, with so much unusual movement and the rain as an eternal threat, no one could complain about the spectacle this time. There was excitement until the end for the podium positions. Although that factor must be attributed to Pirelli's stubbornness, with those soft tires capable of surviving to infinity.
