Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix in what amounted to a snoozefest for him as he finished nearly 10 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in second place with all the drama reserved for the third and final podium position where Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso barely fended off the Red Bull of Sergio Perez to snatch third place.
The race had a dramatic beginning as Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari suffered a hydraulic failure during the formation lap – knocking Leclerc out of the race and second position behind pole-sitter Verstappen, who then had to fend off initial challenges from both Norris and seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes on the first turn before a crash behind them took out the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Williams of Alexander Albon and brought out a red flag.
When the race was re-started from a standing start on the fourth lap, Alonso immediately passed Hamilton and that trio stood for most of the remainder of the race until the final laps when Perez passed Alonso on Lap 70 of the 71-lap race only to have Alonso return the favor on the next lap and then barely hold off Perez’s last-ditch effort at the finish line.
Only 14 cars finished the race and only 12 cars were competitive as the Alpha Tauri of Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren of Oscar Piastri were seriously compromised by the hits they took in the opening crash of Albon and Magnussen.
With the result, Perez solidifies his hold on second place in the driver’s standings with 258 points to Hamilton’s 226 points in third with only two races remaining in the season.
2023 Brazilian Grand Prix Top 10 Finishers
1] Max Verstappen – Red Bull
2] Lando Norris – McLaren
3] Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
4] Sergio Perez – Red Bull
5] Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
6] Carlos Sainz, Jr. – Ferrari
7] Pierre Gasly – Alpine
8] Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
9] Yuki Tsunoda – Alpha Tauri
10] Esteban Ocon – Alpine
