Verstappen started from the pit line, behind Ocon, who declared he would be doing that first which put the Red Bull at the back. On the grid, all the grippy rubber had been washed away. There was a mix of tyre compounds, particularly between medium and soft, with four drivers choosing the hard type.
When the lights went off, everyone got away cleanly. Alonso had a little off later. The Racing Bulls did well with Lawson overtaking Russell. Bortoleto was off again and the Safety Car was brought out. He claimed that Stroll pushed him off but it looked more like he lost control of the rear. Hamilton ran straight into Sainz (the pair had a first corner incident just before) and lost his front wing (which was replaced under the Safety Car) but also really damaged the floor and would be in for a horrible afternoon.
The rolling start was a disaster. Piastri was too headstrong and aggressive and went into Antonelli who went straight into LeClerc, who lost a wheel. LeClerc's suspension was broken and he was stopped at the side. It seemed they might clear it under Yellow Flags but then the Virtual Safety Car. The Racing Bulls also went for it at the restart, with Hadjar just holding off Lawson. Piastri had second place which seems very unfair.
Verstappen also got a puncture, presumably from all the bits and he had to pit and give up all the places he had made up from the back. When the VSC stopped Bearman immediately overtook Gasly. It wasn't long before Russell got past Hadjar for fourth and Bearman got past Lawson for sixth. Verstappen and Hamilton were battling at the back.
Tsunoda got a ten second penalty for a collision which we didn't see. We were given a replay and it involved Stroll. One were at least the Canadian can say wasn't his fault. Piastri was given a ten second penalty as well. McLaren could have played a team game and asked Norris to move over to allow Piastri to build a ten second gap but with Papaya Rules, they won't. At least, they should tell Piastri not to fight Norris with the penalty in play, it would be too risky to put both drivers out. When will Brown and Stella intervene?
The first round of pit stops came around and Sainz had a five second one, which was a shame as both Williams were running in the points. Once those had played out Verstappen was sixth.
Halfway through the race, it was clear how far McLaren have improved their car when Norris sailed past Verstappen down the straight.
There were penalties everywhere. Hamilton also got one for colliding into Sainz (I think) and Tsunoda got another for not serving his first one correctly. Piastri served his and we thought it was going to be a one-stop for him with it but no, same tyres on again.
Hamilton finally got his wish and was allowed by Ferrari to box and retire his car.
There was a second round of late stops for many of the drivers, which left a clear run to the end for battling. With eight laps to go, Verstappen overtook Russell for fourth place; the crowd went wild, which surprised me. Why boo Norris and cheer Verstappen, Hamilton's great rival (or one of them)? The grand finale of the race was Verstappen trying to get past Antonelli for second. Piastri was disappointed not to be higher than fifth and I think his race engineer was very measured in not explaining exactly why he was not higher.
Norris was supreme all weekend and calmly said so on the radio, wishing it was a greater gap to the driver behind. Verstappen took Driver of the Day, which was probably deserved as he started from the pit lane and finished third. Everyone was pleased with Antonelli's second place. It was a great race, even without the promised weather. With three races and a sprint to go, including a return to Vegas baby, Sao Paulo left me excited for the rest of the season.
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