The hits and misses of the editorial team after the Brazilian Grand Prix

Tops

1. Aston Martin back in the game

Aston Martin has emerged from troubled waters in Brazil. Fernando Alonso managed to make his comeback on the podium during Sunday’s race. As for Stroll, a very respectable P5 congratulated his return to form.

The Saturday sprint race was in line with the performances after the summer break. Neither of the two drivers scored any points. However, throughout the rest of the weekend, they managed to perform well. The Canadian achieved the 3rd fastest time in Q3 on Friday, while Alonso secured a 4th place on the starting grid.

Alonso managed to overtake Lewis Hamilton right from the new start of the race (red flag from the start) to escape to 3rd place. Although he almost lost the podium to Perez, who made a significant comeback, the Spaniard left with 15 points in the championship.

Thanks to its two drivers, Aston Martin scored 25 points for the constructor standings.

2. Lando Norris very consistent

After his disappointment in the Mexican qualifiers, Lando Norris had a solid and very consistent weekend. The Briton finished second in both races, although he couldn’t do much against Verstappen.

His only session where he could have done a little better is the Q3 on Friday. In this qualifying session, the McLaren driver achieved the 7th fastest time. However, he won pole position on Saturday for the sprint race and finished second twice.

Norris made the most of his strong performance in the race in Mexico and the problems he encountered in qualifying to have a very solid weekend at Interlagos. The only downside is that he did not manage to overtake Verstappen in the two opportunities he had in the early laps. But few drivers have been able to do so this season.

3. Several overtakings

Interlagos is often the scene of great overtakes, and the 2023 edition was no exception. Despite the early race accident, the remaining drivers put on a show. Fernando Alonso managed to take 3rd place from Hamilton as early as the 2nd lap. The Briton was caught off guard and was unable to counter, thanks to a strong defense from the Spaniard.

A few laps later, Perez managed to surprise Hamilton. The 38-year-old driver had just lost the DRS that his teammate had given him. With the strong top speed of the Red Bull, the Mexican dove inside at the first corner.

What could have been the most significant overtake of the race ultimately did not happen by just a few centimeters. At the moment of crossing the finish line, Sergio Perez came close to snatching the 3rd position from Alonso. Ultimately, the Spaniard stayed in front thanks to the nose of his car.

The flops

1. Leclerc abandons on the warm-up lap.

Everything is complicated for Charles Leclerc this season. The Monégasque, who was supposed to start alongside Verstappen on Sunday, ended up hitting the wall during the warm-up lap. The driver and his team communicated after the incident that the cause of the problem came from an engine issue. The 26-year-old driver explained, in particular, that he felt the steering wheel becoming stiff before eventually being unable to turn.

There may be regrets for Leclerc because for the past three races, he was supposed to start consistently on the front row (two pole positions in Austin and Mexico). In recent races, the Monegasque has also found his form on Sundays, in a car that performs very well on Saturdays but struggles on Sundays.

After a decent start to the weekend, Leclerc leaves Interlagos with 0 points obtained on Sunday, and a crash.

2. Too much degradation in Mercedes

Mercedes has been causing a surprise since Austin. However, in Brazil, this surprise was not a good one. The cars of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have suffered greatly, especially with tire degradation. As early as Saturday, during the sprint, the team disappointed with a huge drop in pace.

In qualifying, the two drivers did not stand out, starting 4th and 5th in the sprint race and 5th and 6th for the main race. On Sunday, although Lewis Hamilton seemed to make two good starts (at the beginning of the race and after the red flag), the Englishman was ultimately caught off guard by Alonso. He was unable to keep up with the pace of the Spaniard.

George Russell had to retire on the 5th lap, after suffering greatly. Mercedes leaves with the four little points from Hamilton’s 8th place.

3. Not much smiled for Alpine

Alpine leaves with points but it was difficult. Both French cars suffer greatly from top speed issues. In this context, downforce had been reduced to compensate for this lack.

During the sprint race, the two drivers did not finish in the top half of the standings. Alpine finished 13th and 14th on Saturday, which meant zero points. However, for the race on Sunday, both Normans managed to leave with seven points.

The strategy on Ocon’s side almost cost him dearly with four pit stops. Overall, there were six retirements in the race, including Piastri, Leclerc, and Russell who are drivers aiming for points. The 10th place obtained by Ocon and the 7th by Gasly could have been compromised if there hadn’t been so many issues.