The Brazilian Grand Prix never disappoints. The 2024 edition was no exception. While rain had postponed qualifying until Sunday morning with Norris on pole and Max Verstappen 17th, it reappeared in the race to drive it completely mad. And in this madness it was all about survival, the Dutchman returned to winning ways ahead of the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. His first since Spain on June 23. A success that virtually puts an end to the suspense surrounding the world title.

Survival was the key word at Interlagos on Sunday, because by the time the formation lap was completed, Alex Albon had already retired after destroying his Williams in morning qualifying, despite setting the 7th fastest time, and Carlos Sainz, 13th, was starting from the pit lane. Lance Stroll, in 10th place, was there, but only for a few seconds, as he hit the wall… on the warm-up lap, before settling into the gravel trap and retiring before the start, which was delayed by twenty minutes.

Russell surprises Norris at the start, Verstappen goes wild

And by the time the lights went out, George Russell was much better awake than Lando Norris, for at the first corner the Mercedes came out ahead of the McLaren and would hold that lead for 29 laps. The two Britons, at ease in these conditions, quickly escaped, leaving Tsunoda, Ocon and Leclerc more than eight seconds behind. Max Verstappen, 17th on the grid, was tenth after two laps and sixth after eleven. Unleashed, the Dutchman found the gap with his intermediates on Leclerc when the latter called a pit stop on lap 24. Behind them, there were plenty of mistakes, with Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz going off the track, and Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez making errors. The rain then intensified, and Hulkenberg crashed out on lap 28, triggering a virtual safety car.

A winning bet for Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly

Everyone went to the pits except the top five (Russell, Norris, Tsunoda, Ocon and Verstappen) and Gasly, who made a less time-consuming stop. They were followed on the next lap by Russell and Norris, but at the end of the virtual safety car. A mistake. Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly remained on track and in the top 3 ahead of Russell and Norris. The deluge then fell on São Paulo, a real ice rink, but Norris bravely passed Russell just as the safety car was brought out to avoid a drama. This quickly turned into a red flag, as Franco Colapinto smashed his Williams into the wall. Everyone was called to the pits and given the opportunity to change their tires “for free”. A dream for the top 3.

A fourth title in Vegas for Verstappen?

After a good twenty minutes’ interruption, the race resumed with a flying start, and new tires, well managed by Ocon who stayed on course ahead of Verstappen and Gasly, but on lap 39, Sainz went off again and provoked a safety car. On the restart, Ocon didn’t have the same success this time and Verstappen passed on the inside at Turn 1 on Lap 43. The gluttonous Dutchman took the lead and never relinquished it, putting in a string of fastest laps. Behind Norris, who had already made a mistake on the first restart, missed the second one again, losing places to Leclerc and Piastri. And his title hopes? Certainly. Finally in sixth place, and unable to overtake Leclerc at the end of the race, Norris dropped 18 points on Verstappen and headed for Vegas 62 points behind. An abyss.

Norris sixth as in the middle, the Alpines of Esteban Ocon, second, and Pierre Gasly, third, got in between with George Russell. The French shone with their choice to stay on track and take advantage of luck and the red flag. It was a crazy gamble, but one that may have paid off for Les Bleus, who scored 35 points this weekend, including 33 in the race. Enough to put Alpine back in sixth place in the manufacturers. For both Verstappen and the French, the Brazilian weekend was a miracle.