Thrilling, eventful, and chaotic are the only words to describe such a grand prix as the one just carried out at Interlagos this past weekend. The track always offering up a spectacle since its addition to the Formula 1 calendar back in 1973. However, today might just be in contention for the best race of the season. On the first lap Daniel Ricciardo, the last of the late breakers, surprisingly let off the brakes mid-corner, colliding with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, taking them both out of the race and deploying the safety car. Kevin Magnussen, who took both his and Haas’s first pole ever on Friday, started P8 after a mega sprint race. While many would be disappointed with a seven-position fallback, for Haas and Kevin that’s a result to be proud of. However, the collision with Dani Ric’s Mclaren saw points be snatched out of Haas’s hands like candy stolen from a child. More importantly, however, Haas remains just two points clear of title rivals AlphaTauri after both Alphas and Kmag’s teammate Mick Schumacher failed to score any points. With one race to go, many will be watching closely next week at the season finale in Abu Dhabi as millions of dollars are on the line in this battle for P8 in the constructor’s championship. Following the safety restart, a battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton ensued. The two raced on before a collision at the Senna Esses. The stewards put the blame on Max Verstappen however despite Hamilton’s radio message saying, “That was not a racing incident mate!” I, myself along with the commentators for today’s race would call that a clear racing incident. However, the Verstappen controversy didn’t end there. Toward the end of the race, Max Verstappen passed teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez to try and catch Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc. On the penultimate lap, however, it was clear that Verstappen simply did not have the pace to catch either car. After securing the championship back in Japan, the title fight for runner-up has seen Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc battle for P2 in the driver’s championship. After Red Bull realized Max could no longer catch the Alpine of Alonso, Max’s race engineer GP asked Max to concede positions so Checo could take home more points for his fight. Verstappen simply ignored the request and continued to push, bringing his car home to finish P6. A firey series of radio messages were exchanged on the Red Bull pit wall following the race finish. Perez fired shots stating, “I think if [Max] has two championships it’s thanks to me”, a reference to the eight separate occasions last year in which Checo held up Max’s title rival Lewis Hamilton to prevent him from scoring many crucial points in a title Hamilton narrowly lost. Verstappen fired back stating “I told you already last time. Don’t ask that again to me. Are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it”. Verstappen’s response led many to question what his “reasons” were. A good day for Alpine saw them put one hand on P4 in the constructor’s championship. A double DNF for Mclaren saw the constructor lose out on valuable points, as the gap between the two teams went from five points to nineteen points. Meanwhile Alpine after a terrible sprint race that saw Alonso start P18 and Ocon P17, ended the day with double points! A special mention to Alonso for his absolute masterclass of a race, finishing in P5 just behind the Mercedes and Ferrari duos. As for the race winner, George Russel was simply too quick to catch, taking home his maiden victory after holding off seven-time world champion Hamilton and passing three-time race winner Perez. Hamilton finished P2 after a great recovery drive post-collision with Verstappen to make it the first Mercedes 1-2 of the season and the first
Mercedes win of the season. A far cry from their performance back at the season opener in Bahrain. And last but certainly not least, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc had a mega drive today. Carlos looked at one with his car, looking as if he was simply going on a Sunday morning drive. He brought his car home P3 to take the final podium spot while teammate Leclerc drove an incredible recovery drive after a collision with Lando Norris which saw Leclerc’s car spin into the barriers at around 80 mph. Miraculously the car survived the impact and Leclerc brought it home to make it a Ferrari 3-4, a crucial day for their fight against Mercedes for P2 in the constructor’s championship. Brazil this year was an easy 11/10 and to me the best race of the season. We look forward as we head into the season finale for 2022 in Abu Dhabi, which will hopefully provide a thrilling end to our season. I myself can’t wait.
