Verstappen storms from P17 to win Brazil GP as Alpine take double podium

Verstappen storms from P17 to win Brazil GP as Alpine take double podium

3rd November 2024 0 By Kamron Kent

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen stormed through the field from 17th on the grid to win the Brazilian Grand Prix as Alpine secured a double podium finish. 

Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool

For the first time since this year’s Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen has taken a race win which wasn’t a sprint win. He put in a champion’s drive to recover from 17th on the grid to win the race. 

The triple world champion was visibly upset, on Sky Sports F1’s coverage, with qualifying as he was eliminated from Q2 due to a late crash from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Verstappen qualified 12th for the grand prix but was dragged to 17th through a five-place grid penalty due to his power unit. 

Despite the low starting position, the defending world champion climbed through the field and by lap 10 he was seventh in the running order. 

However, as the weather deteriorated and heavy rain fell, others pitted for fresher intermediates before a Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to the beached Haas of Nico Hulkenberg – who was later disqualified for getting help from the Track Marshals.

Making use of the VSC, and the following safety car deployment, race leaders Mercedes’s George Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris pitted whilst Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly – with Verstappen in the middle – stayed out. 

The session was quickly red-flagged after Williams’ sole driver Franco Colapinto crashed out on the run-up to the pit straight. 

On the restart, allowing for free tyre changes, Ocon led the pack to green-flag conditions and continued to lead the race, ahead of Verstappen and Gasly, until Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz crashed out on lap 39. 

When the race finally got going once more, Verstappen made his move at the restart and dove down the inside of Ocon into turn one and snatched the lead. From there the top three didn’t change; Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly.

As a result of Verstappen’s win and Norris’ sixth-place finish, it means the Dutchman has rebuilt some of his championship lead, leading by 62 points over the McLaren. As a result, Verstappen can claim his fourth consecutive world championship title in Las Vegas, next time out on November 21-23. 

In terms of the constructor’s championship fight, the double podium means Alpine have jumped up three positions in the championship moving from ninth to sixth. At the same time, McLaren continues to hold their lead over Ferrari and Red Bull heading into the final three races of the season.

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Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

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About the author

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

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