2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix highlights

Max Verstappen put in an assured drive to take a dominant victory in the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, making it a record-breaking 17th win for the world champion in 2023.

Click here to subscribe to our print edition!

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:

It was an action-packed race, even before the start! Ultimately, the dominant force this season, Max Verstappen, took the win, but there was plenty of excitement, and how! Norris played his part, showing great pace so that he finished not that far behind the Red Bull driver and then Alonso and Perez had the crowd going wild with their duel in the closing stages. At the same time, there were also plenty of other exciting battles throughout the race. All this on a track that is very hard on tyres, with significant degradation, so that the drivers had to work hard to manage them, but it certainly didn’t stop them from overtaking their rivals even towards the end of the stints.

Strategy and tyre usage confirmed our predictions going into the race. The two-stop was the preferred choice of most drivers, while the Soft was the tyre that saw the most use. In very similar weather to what we had in yesterday’s Sprint, the C4, although requiring careful management, proved that, overall, it performed better than the C3, mainly because it ensured better grip and slid less. Almost everyone used the Medium in the middle stint, with lap numbers similar to those on the Softs.

How the race was won from the tyre point of view:

For the start, 19 drivers had chosen the Soft, with seven of them going for a new set of C4. Sargeant was the only driver to start on the Medium. For the restart, after the first lap accident, which involved Albon, Magnussen, Piastri, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg, two drivers decided to change their approach to the race: Piastri went from Soft to Medium while Sargeant went in the opposite direction.

Of the 17 drivers lined up for the second start, only Ocon made three stops, using three sets of C4 and one of C3. Everyone else went for the two-stop, with 15 drivers following the sequence C4-C3-C4, while Piastri used two sets of Soft after his first stint on the Medium.

Norris did the longest stint on the Medium (32 laps), and Piastri extended a Soft term the most, going for 28 laps.

One interesting fact: the red flag on lap three allowed two drivers – Sargeant and Hulkenberg – to complete the entire race using only the Soft compound.

What’s next?

After a break of 41 years, Formula 1 returns to Las Vegas and a brand new track. From 16 to November 18, the cars will tackle the 6.201-kilometre street circuit that passes some of the most iconic landmarks on the famous Strip. For the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the compound selection is as follows: C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow medium and C5 as P Zero Red soft.

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

2023 Constructor Standings

Pos	Picture	Team	Points
1.		Red Bull Racing	860
2.		Mercedes-AMG F1 Team	409
3.		Scuderia Ferrari	406
4.		McLaren Racing	302
5.		Aston Martin F1 Team	280
6.		Alpine F1 Team	120
7.		Williams Racing	28
8.		Scuderia AlphaTauri	25
8.		Alfa Romeo Racing	16
10.		Haas F1 Team	12

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

Three-time world champion Max Verstappen avoided start chaos at Interlagos to win the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix and extend his season record to 17 victories as Mexican team-mate Sergio Pérez finished fourth for 2023 constructors’ champions Oracle Red Bull Racing.

McLaren’s Lando Norris kept Verstappen honest throughout, but the Dutchman held on for victory by 8.277s, with Pérez missing out on a podium place by just 0.053s to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Max Verstappen, Driver, Red Bull Racing

Again, it was a long stint on the tyres, and it was essential to save them throughout as we had high tyre degradation. Lando had a good race, and I had to work to defend in the first lap and maintain the gap. He was close to me in stint one and pushed harder on the newer compounds at the start, but I stayed calm throughout the race, just relaxed and let the car roll into the corner. He did well, and we had some good racing today. It has been quite a long triple header, so I’m looking forward to a few days’ break before preparing for Vegas. I am enjoying the moment, and hopefully, we can continue this success until the end of the year.

Sergio Pérez, Driver, Red Bull Racing:

Let’s start from the beginning; it took me a while to get through the Mercedes, which damaged my race. After that, we were always a bit on the back foot with Fernando. We were chipping away at him, and towards the end, we came close to the podium. Well, we have done to Fernando because it was a great fight and fair racing. Between us, whoever got the podium, it was well deserved, and he got it. I had the opportunity and went for it, but he was fast on the straights, and I don’t think I could have done anything differently in the final few laps. I think that pace has been there for the last few weekends, but we haven’t been able to put it all together. It was a matter of time before it came. It was a good weekend for us in the Championship because we are getting closer to securing the second spot; now we go to Vegas.

CHRISTIAN HORNER – CEO and Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

It was a superb race today on all counts. Max was fantastic. I got out in front early and managed the tyres well. It is a similarly stellar performance we have been seeing all season. Equally, Checo had a brilliant drive back to the form we know so well. The state we have been willing him back to in the later stages of this season. He gave as good as he got against Alonso but, unfortunately, was just pipped at the post. Some great racing. It’s been a fantastic season for us, and there are still two races. So our attention turns to Vegas in two weeks, racing down The Strip on Saturday night. It’s undoubtedly going to be a week like no other.

Red Bull Racing Honda best pictures:

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 03: Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner looks on in the Paddock before practice ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 03, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: The Red Bull Racing team prepares for a pitstop during the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 05, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: The Race winner trophy of Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing is pictured in the garage after the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 05, 2023, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates in Parc Ferme during the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 05, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing (C), Second placed Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren (L) and Third placed Fernando Alonso of Spain and Aston Martin F1 Team (R) stand on the podium during the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 05, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and 4th placed Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrate after the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 05, 2023, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202311050800 // Usage for editorial use only //

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

Lewis Hamilton finished eighth, whilst George Russell was forced to retire from Sunday’s São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos. Lining up P5 and P8, both Lewis and George made strong starts, Lewis vaulting into P3 and George P6 before the red flag flew for a first corner incident.

On the restart, having taken another set of used Soft tyres, Lewis lost ground and dropped to P4 whilst George gained one position to run in P5. After that promising start, though, it soon became clear that the W14 did not have the pace to fight those ahead or resist some of the faster runners behind. Both drivers stopped twice more and kept a significant focus on tyre management. They took the Medium compound for their middle stint before switching to another used Soft tyre for the final portion of the race. Unfortunately, George wouldn’t see the chequered flag. He was having to deal with rising Power Unit temperatures, and they would ultimately force his retirement. Lewis meanwhile ran a lonely race in P8 to bring home a handful of points for the team.

Lewis Hamilton

I feel like I drove a better race today than I did yesterday about how I was managing the tyres to the best of my ability. It’s difficult to say why we struggled so much this weekend. There are moments with this car when it works and others when it doesn’t. It’s very inconsistent throughout the lap, and we need to figure that out. Today, we were slow on the straight but still sliding through the corners, so it wasn’t easy. We will look at things to determine what we should have done differently. It was a day to forget, but hopefully, there are lots of learnings from it, too. I am also so proud of everyone in the team. They are still working hard and holding their heads up high. That’s what we have to continue to do, and we will keep pushing to improve.

George Russell

We got something very wrong this weekend. We’re not sure what that was yet, but the pace just hasn’t been there. You don’t go from a podium-worthy car to one that is one second off the front, so it’s been extraordinary. We thought yesterday may have been a one-off, but it wasn’t. We were sliding the tyres, and I think the performance we showed was the maximum we had with the car the way it was. In the end, we suffered from high oil temperatures in the Power Unit, and that caused us to retire. That topped off what was a difficult day. We need to get back to the factory now, regroup, and work through what we did to get on top of it before the final two races of the season.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

Today was an abysmal performance. This car finished on the podium last week in Mexico, so whatever we did to it here did not work. We are not usually at our strongest on sprint weekends, but that doesn’t explain how challenging this weekend was. Lewis survived out there to take P8 whilst George was forced to retire. I can only feel for them having to drive something so tricky today. The car is clearly on a knife-edge the whole time, and we need to ensure we develop that out of the car for next year. We also need to push hard for the final two races of the season and recover. That is the most important thing now: heading to two very different tracks in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

We were very limited in what we could change on the car between the Sprint and the Grand Prix today. Effectively, the front wing angle and any electronic settings the driver can make from the cockpit. As such, we knew it would not be easy to make much of a step in performance, but we would always give it a go.

The stars were generally good. Unfortunately, Lewis got past Alonso into turn four on the second, but it was clear that we didn’t have the pace to race them today. It was very much a case of hanging on from there. The drivers had to manage tyres and deal with a lack of top speed. Towards the end, we retired George as an issue with his cooling system was causing temperatures to go out of control slowly.

We’ve got something very wrong with the setup. We’ve had the pace to fight for podiums in the recent races, and today, we could barely fight for points. We’re disappointed, and we will work hard to understand and fix what we got wrong this weekend.

Mercedes-AMG F1 Team best pictures:

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Thursday – Steve Etherington

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday – Stephen Reuss

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday – Jiri Krenek

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday – Steve Etherington

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Saturday – Jiri Krenek

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Saturday – LAT images

Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari leaves Brazil with a sixth place courtesy of Carlos Sainz but also with plenty to regret because of the reliability problem that took Charles Leclerc off the track on the formation lap and left him unable to start the race. The one positive to take away from the weekend is that the fight for second place in the Constructors’ Championship is still open as, with points scored in yesterday’s Sprint and today’s race, the gap has come down by 2 points to 20.

The World Championship now has a short break before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the season, takes place in two Sundays.

Carlos Sainz #55

It was a difficult day. The starts were not good due to a clutch problem yesterday, and we lost some positions there. From there on, I was able to pass both Mercedes on track, but that was it. Unfortunately, today, Aston Martin, Red Bull and McLaren were faster than us, and P6 was the maximum. It is a big shame that Charles didn’t have the chance to start the race, as we could have scored critical points against Mercedes here in Brazil.

Now it’s time to recharge our batteries, and hopefully, we will be back in good form in Las Vegas.

Charles Leclerc #16

It’s been a disappointing day on my side. Starting from P2, we hoped to bring home many points to move up in the championship fight, but unfortunately, we had to retire early.

Coming into turn six on the formation lap, I lost my power steering, and the wheel went stiff, also locking up the rears.
I’m focused on the last two races of the season now. We won’t give up and will fight to finish with the best constructors’ classification result we can achieve. I will give it everything in Las Vegas.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal

We are very disappointed because we could have scored many essential points for the Championship. Still, we lost Charles even before the start due to a reliability problem, which sent him off the track on the formation lap. He would have been starting on the front row, and on top of that, we had sacrificed his Sprint chances yesterday to favour today’s Grand Prix. Now, we must investigate carefully to see precisely what happened with his car.

Carlos’ weekend was not without difficulties, and he struggled at the start with the clutch, losing a few places. However, in the race, especially the first stint, he did an excellent job of managing the tyres and could go and pass both Mercedes, which means that throughout the weekend, we made up two points on our rivals. It could have been so much more, but the fight for second place remains.

Scuderia Ferrari best pictures:

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 04: Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23 during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Saturday November 04, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Zak Mauger / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 04: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23 during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Saturday November 04, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Zak Mauger / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 03: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23 during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Friday November 03, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Scuderia Ferrari perform a pit stop on the car of Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23, during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Sunday, November 05, 2023, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 03: Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23 during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Friday November 03, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 03: Top three qualifiers Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, Pole man Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, and Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Friday, November 03, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)

Hear from McLaren F1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris

It was a perfect day; it couldn’t have gone much better, to be honest. Good pace, similar to yesterday, which is the main thing, and a much better start at the beginning to get from sixth to second. P2 is as good as we can get now and for the time being, but I’m thrilled to be challenging for podiums consistently. Thanks for everyone’s hard work both at the track and the factory in what’s been a long but enjoyable triple header.

Oscar Piastri

A difficult race for me today. Unfortunately, it was essentially over before it began, after the contact from behind that I couldn’t avoid. The team did an incredible job getting the car turned around to get me back out after the red flag. Seventy-one laps at a circuit I haven’t driven before are extremely useful for my learning, and I hope to see the fruits of the team’s hard work today when we return next year. After that, we needed a safety car to unlock us, which sadly never came. On to the next one in Las Vegas.

Andrea Stella

After a challenging afternoon for the team, we returned with solid points and more silverware. On Lando’s side, we have somewhat mixed feelings. On the one hand, we can be satisfied that he was the only car quick enough to contend with Verstappen. But throughout the race, we have to accept that he still has a bit of a performance advantage, and we still have some work to do to close that gap. Overall, it was an impressive drive from Lando and essential points for the team.

Oscar’s race was unfortunately compromised after being caught up in someone else’s incident at the start. The team did an exceptional job to repair the substantial damage to Oscar’s car during the red flag and get him back out for the remainder of the race. Despite this, Oscar’s car was still carrying damage to important aerodynamic components and took a significant lap-time deficit throughout the entire race. Nevertheless, it was a valuable exercise for him to gain experience at a track he had never raced at before.

After this long triple header, my thanks go to the entire team, both trackside and at MTC, and to our colleagues at HPP for their dedication and continued support. We came away with 63 points from a selection of racetracks that we knew didn’t necessarily suit our car, which is encouraging in terms of our general competitiveness. It’s time now to reset and prepare for the final double-header of the season, starting in Las Vegas in two weeks.

McLaren Racing’s best pictures:

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Lando Norris, McLaren, 2nd position, and Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren, and the McLaren team celebrate after the race

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Pit stop practice with the car of Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60, leads Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, and the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint race

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60, leads Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, and Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Lando Norris, McLaren, 2nd position, celebrates on arrival in Parc Ferme

Fernando secures a podium, and Lance finishes fifth after an absorbing conclusion to the 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Fernando delivered a podium in astonishing circumstances at Interlagos, with Lance taking P5 at the chequered flag. A team effort backed up by solid execution saw Lance qualify third and Fernando fourth on Friday. Both drivers were unfortunate not to make the top 10 during Saturday’s Sprint Shootout, but they made up places during the Sprint; Fernando took P11 and Lance P12 yesterday. Lance and Fernando began today’s race on Soft compounds, but Lance lost two places from P3 to P5 at the start while Fernando stayed in P4.

A red flag was brought out after a Lap One crash, and on the restart, Fernando passed Lewis Hamilton for P3. Lance pitted for a new set of Mediums on Lap 22, emerging 10th and passing the Mercedes soon after on his way back into the top five. Fernando pitted for new Mediums on Lap 25 and emerged third – holding off Red Bull’s Sergio Peréz for his second stint. Fernando came into the pits for his second stop on Lap 47, switching to a new set of Softs and emerging P3. The Red Bull began to make up ground and was in DRS range of Fernando for much of the final ten laps, but Fernando put up a staunch and intelligent defence that was broken only on the penultimate lap.

In a nail-biting end to the Grand Prix, Fernando managed to pass the Red Bull and re-take P3 into Turn Four. The battle for the final podium place culminated in a drag race to the line split by 0.053 seconds. Lance’s last stop came on Lap 52, but an issue saw him lose time and emerge sixth. A rapid final stint saw Lance secure a top-five finish as the team collected 25 points from São Paulo.

Fernando Alonso

For the last 30 laps, it felt like I had pressure from Sergio [Pérez]. But when he passed me two laps from the end, I thought the chance of a podium finish was no longer possible. Then he braked late into Turn One on the final lap, and I said I would go for it into Turn Four. This is a phenomenal result for the whole team. We’d been struggling a little in recent races – especially the last two events – so this podium is for everyone at the track and back at Silverstone. It shows that we will always keep fighting until the very last lap, the final corner.

Lance Stroll

Neither of my starts was great – I had a lot of wheelspin and minimal traction, so I didn’t get off the line well. After that, we had a lot of pace – quicker than Ferrari, quicker than Mercedes – and it felt like we were back to where we were at the beginning of the year. Today’s result shows us that we can go out and fight for points in these final two races. Finally, a big shout out to the team – the last few races have been tough, but today is a real reward and sends us home with smiles after three weeks on the road.

I’m looking forward to Vegas!

Mike Krack, Team Principal:

Today’s result was an excellent reward for hard work over the last few months and a difficult couple of races. Credit to everybody at the track and the Campus for putting their heads down and working hard: we can all see what is possible with great teamwork. Fernando drove with great intelligence and skill – over the last few laps, he showed the world what a great driver he has always been. Lance did brilliantly to pass both Mercedes, keep the Ferrari behind and catch Sergio and Fernando at the end. It shows what is possible if we provide our drivers with a quick car: they perform exceptionally. We will celebrate this result – but the work continues to close the gap to the teams ahead of us. We will give 100 per cent focus to doing everything we can in the last two races.

Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team best pictures:

portrait, Aut�dromo Jos� Carlos Pace, GP2320a, F1, GP, Brazil, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team

action, Pit Stops, Autódromo José Carlos Pace, GP2320a, F1, GP, Brazil, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, makes a pit stop

Portrait, Podium, Autódromo José Carlos Pace, GP2320a, F1, GP, Brazil, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 3rd position on the podium

parc ferme, Portrait, Aut�dromo Jos� Carlos Pace, GP2320a, F1, GP, Brazil, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team, in Parc Ferme

Portrait, Press Conferences, AutÛdromo JosÈ Carlos Pace, GP2320a, F1, GP, Brazil, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 3rd position in the Press Conference

Finish, Portrait, atmosphere, Aut�dromo Jos� Carlos Pace, GP2320a, F1, GP, Brazil, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 3rd position, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team, and the Aston Martin team celebrate after the race

BWT Alpine F1 Team claimed seven points from the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix as Pierre Gasly climbed his way from fifteenth on the grid to seventh at the chequered flag and Esteban Ocon from fourteenth to tenth in a strong Sunday effort from the team in Interlagos.

The race was red-flagged after a multi-car incident on the opening lap, with both Esteban and Pierre reacting well to navigate their way through the chaos to gain a handful of places. At the restart, Pierre gained two places to rise to ninth place, with Esteban up a place to tenth.

From there, strategy dominated the 71-lap race with Esteban on a three-stop Soft-Medium-Soft-Soft plan and Pierre on a two-stop Soft-Medium-Soft approach; both drivers ended the race on new Softs. Pierre had a tyre advantage on Esteban on lap 49, as Esteban allowed Pierre to pass in a bid to chase Lewis Hamilton in front. And, along with putting in the Fastest Lap of the race, Pierre closed down the seven-time world champion before a neat move into Turn 1 to take eighth place, eventually becoming seventh once all cars completed pit-stops. Esteban made his final stop a few laps later, aiming to close down the other Mercedes of George Russell for the last point. The Briton retired on lap 59, giving Esteban a smooth ride to tenth place.

After an intense triple header, the team looks ahead to the Las Vegas Grand Prix in a fortnight.

Esteban Ocon:

Today, we had a small reward of one point after a challenging race. We had a great start, gaining some positions while avoiding the chaos in front. Unfortunately, we quickly saw that we had very high degradation throughout and had to go for a three-stop race. We had planned for this as we saw some signs yesterday that this could be a factor, so that is something we will assess going forward. Nevertheless, it was a good day in the office for the team with both cars in the points and a good step since yesterday’s performance in the Sprint Race. Our focus now shifts to Las Vegas, the penultimate race of the season, which promises to be a spectacular experience where we hope to deliver another strong result.

Pierre Gasly:

I’m thrilled with today’s race, and I would say it was one of our best performances of the season. It was a challenging race to manage with multiple stints and pit stops, but the entire team did a great job today to make the right calls and execute the stops well. For the team, in seventh and tenth, it’s a strong performance, especially after starting from near the back of the grid. We competed with Carlos [Sainz] and the two Mercedes throughout, which is a good step forward from yesterday. Next up is Las Vegas, which will no doubt be an excellent experience. I’m excited about it, as I always am for new races, and it is up to us to enter that race as prepared as possible and give it our all on track.

Bruno Famin, Interim Team Principal:

It’s been an outstanding team effort today, where we’ve been able to significantly improve our performance from yesterday’s Sprint and convert our difficult grid positions into the points with both cars. It was not an easy race to manage, both for the team with the strategy calls and pit-stops and for the drivers, who had to work their way through the chaos at the start smartly. Ultimately, it is seven solid points for the team, which is an excellent way to round off this triple header. For the last two races of the season, we need to keep our heads down and find ways to be faster from the start of the weekend to be in a better position on Sundays on the grid. I have been impressed by everyone’s togetherness and teamwork, and now we look ahead to Las Vegas for the penultimate race of the 2023 season.

Alpine F1 Team best pictures:

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix

2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix

Logan Sargeant

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance

It’s a miserable race for us. Alex got a solid start and was immediately pressurising both Haas cars. Unfortunately, he was left with nowhere to go in the incident at T1 and retired before his race had started. Having started ahead of the AlphaTauris and the Alpines, it would’ve been interesting to see where he would’ve finished. Logan had a cleaner race and used the safety car and red flag period to run the entire race on Soft compound tyres effectively. He raced well with the Alfa Romeos before they both retired and, with further retirements, was able to finish in P11 whilst controlling his pace to stay ahead of Hulkenberg. AlphaTauri could take an additional 2 points out of our margin over them in the Championship. Whilst this is concerning, we were fortunate that they could not score more points today, as their pace was solid. We have a brief break before we go to Las Vegas for the first part of the final double-header. We still have a lead over our direct rivals and plenty of opportunity to defend that to the end of the season.

Williams F1 Team best pictures:

Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing FW45.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday November 03 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing FW45.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday November 03 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday November 03 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Franco Colapinto (ARG) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday November 03 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday November 03 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Pat Fry Chief Technical Officer (GBR) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday, November 03 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda drove well to claim points in ninth for Scuderia AlphaTauri, with Australian team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finishing the race in 13th place ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 18.

Daniel Ricciardo

It was a messy race start. I saw quite a big crash in front of me, and there was a lot of debris. I felt like I was getting through it, but at a certain point, I saw a tyre flying in the air, like a frisbee, which was starting to get closer. I checked my mirrors and saw the tyre had hit and damaged my rear wing. Due to the red flag, we returned to the pits, where the team did a great job in repairing the car to be ready to restart the race. Unfortunately, I was told that Oscar (Piastri) and I would be a lap down and had to restart from the pitlane. All the frustration was because we were fast today. We stayed behind Yuki, helping him score points, but when we had clear air, I felt like the pace I showed was solid. I think we made some excellent progress throughout this weekend, and I’m happy with that, seeing as it’s a track that has never been a strong one for me. I could’ve contributed quite a lot to the team in scoring points today if we didn’t restart the race one lap down. I’m now looking forward to Las Vegas.

Yuki Tsunoda

Good job to the team! I’m happy for scoring points, but I definitely could’ve done more. I made a mistake in Turn 10, which caused me to lose one position, so I’m sorry to the team. I think more was possible, especially as we were managing some reliability issues that we’ll look into. It’s such a shame about Daniel as well because he was also really fast. I think we both could’ve scored points today. Looking at the positive, starting P16 and ending up P9 shows the intense pace of the car and that we’ve made a big step in the last races since we introduced the upgrades in Austin. We’re in a good rhythm now, scoring consecutive points in three weeks, and it’s essential to keep that momentum for the last two races of the season. We’ll keep extracting performance from the car and aim to continue scoring points to close the gap to Williams, who are ahead of us in the Constructors’ Championship.

Claudio Balestri (Chief Engineer – Vehicle Performance)

Today’s target was to score points and close the gap to Williams, and we did it. The race wasn’t an easy one because, unfortunately, at the race start, following the Turn 1 incident, Daniel sustained damage on his rear wing from a flying tyre. We decided to stop him and repair the car quickly, while at the same time, the red flag was deployed, and we ended up one lap down with Daniel. Unfortunately, this was the end of his race. We sent him back out, waiting for a Safety Car or Red Flag, which never came.

Nonetheless, he showed a very competitive pace and allowed us to gather valuable data while finishing P13. For Yuki, the race was different. He was lucky to remain out of trouble initially and was P10 after the red flag. For the remaining part of the race, Yuki was fighting in the top ten. Unfortunately, we identified a potential clutch issue towards the end of the race, so to ensure we brought the car home, we decided to be conservative with his upshift settings. This meant Yuki could finish P9 and score points for the team. We now switch our focus towards the last two races of the season, with the target of improving our position in the Constructors’ Championship.

Scuderia AlphaTauri Team best pictures:

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 03: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive before practice ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 03, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 04: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT04 on track during the Sprint Shootout ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 04, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 04: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive during the Sprint Shootout ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 04, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 04: Scuderia AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost looks on from the pit wall during the Sprint Shootout ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 04, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepare to drive before the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 05, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Peter Bayer, CEO of Scuderia AlphaTauri, looks on from the grid before the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 05, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team finished with Nico Hulkenberg 12th. At the same time, Kevin Magnussen retired at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Round 21 of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, held Sunday at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team returned to the tenth position in the Constructors’ Championship.

Kevin Magnussen

I got a perfect start, and then I think Albon squeezed Nico. They had contact, which sent Albon into me like a chain reaction. It is what it is; you’ve got to move on to the next race and the next race in Las Vegas.

I look forward to that.

Nico Hulkenberg

It was a typical start situation where it got too tight there, and it was very similar to what happened to me in the Sprint in Qatar; I got sandwiched. You can’t bail out then, so I contacted Albon, putting him into Kevin. It was unfortunate, but there wasn’t much we could do. There was damage, but the red flag allowed us to repair it, so the car was fine; there was just no performance this weekend.

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal:

Having a crash at the start involving both of our cars shows which side Lady Luck is on currently. In the race, after Kevin retired, Nico was trying to do his best with the tires throughout the race, trying to find a way around the degradation we had with our car. I think he did his best, and in the end, P12 was the best we could do.

Haas F1 Team best pictures:

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 03: Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-23 during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Friday November 03, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Sutton / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 03: Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23 during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Friday November 03, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL РNOVEMBER 04: Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Saturday, November 04, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 04: Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Saturday November 04, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Sunday November 05, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

AUTóDROMO JOSé CARLOS PACE, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 05: Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, and Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team, in the garage during the Brazilian GP at Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Sunday November 05, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

Alfa Romeo Racing Stake

Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake suffered the cruellest of heartbreaks as Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu both retired from the Brazilian Grand Prix while in contention for the points. Both cars were sidelined with technical issues, nullifying a good team performance.

The disappointment is still very fresh, but there are positive elements to take to the final two races of the season: a solid pace on all compounds, good teamwork and strategy, and consistent pit stops are what the team will need as it approaches the closing stages of the 2023 campaign.

Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):

Our pace felt pretty good today, a definite improvement from the rest of the weekend: we adapted well to the cooler temperatures, and we were in the mix to bring home some points. I had managed to avoid all the debris from the turn one collision at the first start, but, unfortunately, we eventually had to retire the car. We still need to investigate the technical issue that caused it, but the frustration remains. It was a real shame, as we had the chance to build something promising today. The weekend overall has been a tough one for us; with only two rounds to go, things look pretty tricky for our side: still, we won’t give up, and we will keep working hard to try and make up for the positions lost in the final two rounds of the Championship.

Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):

We had an excellent chance to score points with both cars today. Valtteri and I are working together to finish in the top ten, so it’s incredibly frustrating to finish the race like this. We had a good pace, and we were making progress from the back, but we had a technical issue and had to stop the car. I don’t know the details yet; we will need to investigate the problem fully to understand what happened, but we had to stop to prevent any worse issues from appearing. It’s sad, but it’s motorsport: now, we must focus on Las Vegas and work to ensure we can be as competitive there as we are today.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative:

We’re disappointed today, especially because both drivers were delivering excellent races. Valtteri was firmly in P10, with Zhou right behind him, after a good start and with a car that performed much better than in the previous days. We were fighting with the Alpines and the AlphaTauris, and a points finish was definitely on the cards. Last year, we suffered quite a few DNFs, and this year, we improved significantly: it’s even more disappointing to have two of them in the same race at the end of the season when every opportunity matters even more. We will need to investigate exactly what happened. It was two separate issues that forced us to stop the cars to avoid any further damage. We will look into them in Hinwil to make sure neither reoccurs. Despite the disappointment, there are positives: we saw a performance improvement alongside the lower track temperatures. This gives us confidence for Vegas but also shows that we are very sensitive to changes in track conditions and that we struggle to produce consistent performances in different situations. Our strategy today was the best one to maximise our result, and the drivers worked well together to execute it, but sadly, we never had the opportunity to see its results. Now, there’s no room for regrets: we need to focus on the final two races and maximise everything we can. It’s going to be hard, but we owe it to our team members, our partners and our fans.

Alfa Romeo F1 Team best pictures:

Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team on the grid.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Saturday November 04 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team on the grid.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Saturday November 04 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Alfa Romeo F1 Team pit box flags.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Sunday November 05 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

(L to R): Alessandro Alunni Bravi (ITA) Alfa Romeo F1 Team Managing Director and Team Representative on the grid with Felipe Massa (BRA), FIA Drivers’ Commission President, and Rafaela Bassi (BRA).
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Sunday November 05 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

(L to R): Tiffany Cromwell (AUS) Professional Cyclist and Ruth Buscombe (GBR) Alfa Romeo F1 Team Head of Race Strategy on the grid.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Sunday November 05 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C43.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21, Brazilian Grand Prix, Sunday November 05 2023. Sao Paulo, Brazil.