What the teams said – Race day in Brazil

McLaren

Norris was about the only driver on the track today who had an easy time of it in Brazil. He made a good start and led from there, opting for a two-stop strategy and winning the race by over 10 seconds. The only time he ceded the lead was during the pit stops, as he recorded back-to-back victories to extend his championship lead.

Piastri had to work harder for his points, as he just about held off Hadjar at the start to keep hold of P4. Running in that position at the Safety Car restart, he tried a bold move on Antonelli down the inside, but locked up and hit the Mercedes. He made it through to climb to second but was handed a 10-second penalty for the contact. That dropped him down the order, and although he fought back, he ran out of time to pass Russell at the end.

Lando Norris, 1st

“It was an amazing race, and it's nice to win here in Brazil. It's an amazing track with amazing fans. This one was for one of my mentors, Gil, I hope he'd be very proud.

“It was a great win, but to be honest, seeing how quick the competition was today, it's clear we’ve still got work to do. I'll go back, see the team, congratulate them and see what we can do better. Looking ahead, I'll keep focusing on myself, keep my head down, ignore the noise and keep pushing.”

Oscar Piastri, 5th

"A tough afternoon. It was very eventful and just a shame that we didn't get more out of it today. Ultimately disappointing, but we'll reset before the final triple header."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“Another first and fifth place, this time in Brazil. This weekend confirmed we have reversed the trend that seemed to have started at Monza. We have worked hard to get the most out of the package available to us, and the two consecutive victories are the rewards.

“Lando managed the weekend perfectly. Pole position in both Sprint Qualifying and Saturday’s Qualifying, and victories in the Sprint race and the Grand Prix. Oscar paid dearly for the penalty he received at the restart, which felt harsh and without which he could certainly have finished on the podium. On our part, we need to carefully analyse whether there was anything we could have done to put him in a position to achieve a better result following the penalty.

“Now we have to focus on the next race in Las Vegas, on a track that, on paper, is not the most favourable for us. The road to achieving our goals is still very long, and today we saw once again that our main rival, Max Verstappen, can never be discounted.”

Mercedes

Mercedes split their strategies at the start, with Antonelli on the softs and Russell on the mediums. The former managed to hold onto second place, while the latter lost out to Lawson at the start. But Russell soon found a way past. Antonelli was the filling in the sandwich when Piastri barrelled down the inside at the Safety Car restart, as he took the hit and then collided with Leclerc. Despite that, his car retained its speed and he was able to put together his best race to date.

The duo’s strategies converged late on and they were running second and third. But Russell suffered some brake problems and could not hold off a charging Verstappen. Antonelli could, coming under huge pressure for the last few laps but just holding on to record his best Grand prix finish.

George Russell, 4th

"It’s been a tough weekend for me. I’ve been struggling with the car and to find the necessary pace to really challenge at the front. To take home P4 after a long race is a good result, both for me and for the team given our position in the Constructors’ Championship. I was having to manage my brake temperatures at the end and that made it more difficult to fight Verstappen for P3. Realistically though, I’m not sure we had the pace today to get on the podium.

"Our goal for the end of the season is clear: beat Red Bull and Ferrari to P2 come Abu Dhabi. This weekend has put us back in the driving seat in the battle and hopefully we can build on that in the year-ending triple-header. Kimi did a great job to get P2 too. He’s been super quick all weekend and that’s great to see. We will be working as pair to score as many points as possible and hopefully come out on top by the time we reach the chequered flag at Yas Marina."

Kimi Antonelli, 2nd

"Overall, this weekend, we have done a great job as a team. We weren’t the quickest car here, so I think we’ve absolutely maximised each session and result with P2 in both qualifying sessions, the Sprint, and today’s race. There are still a lot of things I am learning and improving on, but this gives me good confidence going into the final three races of the season. Our battle is for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship, and I am glad we could add a good haul of points here in Brazil.

"It was also looking like we might not score any points at one point. I had a bad restart following the Safety Car, picking up lots of wheelspin. I had both Charles (Leclerc) and Oscar (Piastri) either side; I braked late and was leaving space for the Ferrari along with not closing the inside of the corner down too sharply for the McLaren. Unfortunately, three into one is always going to be difficult; Oscar locked up and next thing I knew contact was made and then I was pushed into Charles. It was a shame that it ended the Ferrari’s race but that’s racing sometimes."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"That was a good way to end a solid weekend here in Brazil. After taking P2 and P3 in yesterday’s Sprint, we backed that up with P2 and P4 today. We weren’t quick enough to challenge Norris, which we expected pre-race, and the Red Bull clearly solved their issues with their changes under parc fermé. It was therefore good to see Kimi keep Max (Verstappen) behind at the end. He did so on a much older and harder tyre; Max had great pace today so that was no easy task once the Red Bull had got onto the back of us. George also had a faster car chasing him down in the closing stages with Piastri closing in. The McLaren was in DRS range for several laps, but George kept him at bay well to take P4.

"We have regained our hold on P2 in the Constructors’ Championship as we leave Brazil. Making sure we finish there when the chequered flag falls in Abu Dhabi is our aim. Having a lead over Red Bull and Ferrari as we head into the year-ending triple-header is positive, but we know how quickly things can change. We will keep our feet on the ground, work diligently, and aim to put in another solid weekend next time out in Las Vegas."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"Today's result is very welcome following a couple of difficult weekends in Austin and Mexico. It was also great to see Kimi get his first P2 finish in F1.

"The race got off to a rather busy start for both drivers. George had a decent start but lost a place around the outside of turn one to a car on the Soft tyre. He was struggling with oversteer which wasn't helped by having to push to get through Lawson and Hadjar. He was able to extend the stint but we decided to commit to two stops and take the Soft tyre in the middle phase. Unfortunately, we didn't quite have the pace to keep Verstappen behind, but he did a great job to hold P4 from Piastri in the closing stages.

"Kimi had a relatively uneventful start but the same cannot be said of the Safety Car restart. He was the middle one of three cars into turn one and when Piastri locked on the inside and ran into him, Kimi got knocked into Leclerc. Luckily, we were able to keep going and managed to stay ahead of Piastri at the finish but it was a big hit that seemed to hurt the balance and consistency of the car. Overall, we didn't have the pace to fight for a win today but P2 is very satisfying result for Kimi and 43 points total this weekend is a nice result for the team."

Red Bull

It was an eventful race for both Red Bull drivers in Sao Paulo. Verstappen started from the pit lane after taking on PU components and tweaking his set-up. Whatever he did worked, as he was rapid all race long. Despite being forced into an early pit stop with a slow puncture, he climbed through the field and even led the race at one stage. Pitting late for softs, he managed to close up and pick off Russell and was within a few tenths of Antonelli – and while he did not get the teenager, he still finished on the rostrum from the pit lane, just the eighth driver to do so in F1 history.

As for Tsunoda, he picked up a 10-second penalty for tagging Stroll into a spin early on. But in serving that, the team touched his car too soon, and that earned him a second 10-second penalty. That ended any chance he had of being competitive out there.

Max Verstappen, 3rd

“From pitlane to podium, this weekend has completely turned around for me, something that I didn't think was possible. The start of the race was very hectic and I picked up a puncture early on from a load of debris on the track which meant that I pretty much had to start the race again. The Team used the right strategy from start to finish which allowed me to get through all of the traffic ahead of me very efficiently. I definitely had to send it a few times to get past the other cars but I love doing that and ended up having a really fun race, which was totally unexpected. Overall it showed that we had really good pace today and that the grip was much better than the last couple of days. The atmosphere at Interlagos was amazing and it really spurred me on. I am so proud of the Team and would like to thank them for all of the hard work that they put into making the changes post Quali last night. We kept pushing and took multiple risks this weekend because we never want to settle for second and we didn't give up. To start in the pitlane and finish P3 on the podium only 10 seconds off P1 was incredible. Now all we can do is keep fighting hard over the final few races of the season and do the best that we possibly can whilst trying to find as much performance as we can extract from the car. A huge congratulations to Kimi as well, he drove amazingly well which will have given his confidence a huge boost which is great for any rookie!"

Yuki Tsunoda, 17th

"The whole weekend has been a difficult one for myself. We tried lots of things as a Team, some which worked and others that didn't. I had a good start to the race on the Hard tyre and made up a couple of positions before using the safety car to pit early. Unfortunately, there was contact with Lance and I had to serve a penalty which made it really tricky to have a positive result today, the extra pitstop also hurt us. I'm not throwing anything away, and in the last stint I showed good pace. I'll continue to do what I can to maximise from here until the end of the season. Credit to Max also, it was an incredible drive from him and he scored some great points for the Team in the Constructors'."

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal

“It was an unbelievable performance from Max today, we all know he did it last year from P17 to win in the wet and it was one of the most extraordinary races one could watch. But this year he almost did it again - from the pitlane, in the dry and, having to make an extra stop with a slow puncture on the first set of tyres. Hats off to him and the Team, they executed a very sharp strategy to get through the field. More importantly, the car was alive again and at the right level of performance. This is not a win but a very positive day for us, everyone has done an amazing job. We took risks, we made mistakes and explored things across the weekend but it is part of the learning process that we feel we need to go racing at the level we want to compete at. The car probably had the pace to fight for the win today, which is exactly what we were looking for when we decided to make the changes overnight. With Yuki, he lost a lot of time today with his ten second penalty and then we made a mistake on our side and incurred another. So, it is a shame that it doesn’t seem to be going our way with Yuki. His last stint was strong and if you removed those two penalties, he would have ended up fighting for points. We will be wishing to have a slightly quieter weekend in Vegas but with everyone's support again at track and back home on Campus, we will be ready to fight no matter the circumstances."

Ferrari

Not to be for Ferrari today. Hamilton had a dreadful opening lap despite starting on the soft tyre. He was unluckily tagged by Sainz which sent him wide and down the order. But then he managed to hit the back of Colapinto’s Alpine, which wiped off his front wing. He limped back to the pits, had a very slow stop due to debris being lodged under his floor, and rejoined in last place. Off the pace, he was handed a five-second penalty for causing that collision, and wound up retiring.

As for Leclerc, he was the innocent bystander at the Safety Car restart running as wide as he could when Piastri hit Antonelli, sending the Mercedes into the Ferrari. Leclerc suffered an immediate puncture and front suspension damage, causing him to park up for a double DNF for the Scuderia.

Charles Leclerc, DNF

"It’s a shame to end with a DNF. I was collateral damage of an incident between Kimi (Antonelli) and Oscar (Piastri) who collided and touched my car as a result. It’s frustrating, considering that we are fighting for second place in the Constructors’ championship. It will be difficult for us to secure that position now, and we have to execute the next three weekends perfectly to have a chance to do so. The reaction of our whole team who turned the situation around completely from Friday to today has been a really good effort."

Lewis Hamilton, DNF

"Definitely a race to forget. After making contact on the first lap, the damage we picked up cost us a lot of downforce and made the rear very difficult to manage. Despite the team’s attempts to find a way forward, the lack of competitiveness combined with the penalty meant we eventually had to retire the car. Definitely not how I wanted to end the week, but I’m grateful to the Brazilian fans for their incredible support as always. We’ve got one final stretch left, and we’ll give it everything."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"After an afternoon like this, you have to look at what were the positives from the weekend, even if it is difficult to find any when the season is coming to an end and you have a double DNF: in Sprint Qualifying we got a decent result, in the Sprint race the pace was good and qualifying went well with Charles. It's been a very tough Sunday. I had the feeling that, at least with Charles, we were in a good place but we paid the price for a collision between Antonelli and Piastri, which is very harsh for him and the team. He was in the right place, he was P2 and then he was out.

"It’s disappointing, because he was in a position where he could have fought for P1 or at least the podium. In a situation like this, not only are you losing points, but you are also giving points to the others. With Lewis, he lost a huge amount of downforce, either from the crash with Sainz or when he ended up with the front wing under the floor or from both incidents. Lewis had good pace, but you cannot come back after two crashes.

"Calling him to retire was logical, as he was last and missing 30 to 40 points of downforce on the car. So, we served the penalty and then retired the car. It is very difficult to draw conclusions from this weekend because of the way it ended. We recovered well after a tricky start on Friday, but this result is a shame for us, a shame for the championship fight, but we now will now head home to Maranello and prepare as well as possible for the final triple header of the year."

Haas

Bearman scored again for Haas, with another strong drive yielding sixth place as he finished as the top midfield runner. He had good pace across the weekend, so it was no surprise to see, but he did have to fight hard to get there, pulling off a good multi-corner move on a one-stopping Hulkenberg amongst others. Ocon was not helped by starting on the unfavoured hard tyre, and had a puncture to boot which did not help his cause.

Esteban Ocon, 12th

“I would’ve been much further up today if I had not gotten a puncture in the early laps, and unfortunately, it came as the VSC finished and the race restarted. I was there at the end fighting for a point with a group of drivers, and it was looking good, but unfortunately I was missing a few laps. I felt the progress, we had good pace, but luck wasn’t on our side today.”

Oliver Bearman, 6th

“I’m very happy. I think honestly, we executed a perfect race, that was the best possible result we could’ve achieved, although we had some fortune with cars retiring. We had good pace, a good strategy, and we made some overtakes as well, which actually isn’t fun because it adds a little bit of risk. Mexico was a bit of a surprise, but to keep that momentum going with P6 is a great feeling, and now we have a great opportunity heading into the final three races.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“It’s a great result with Ollie, having very strong race pace. Yesterday’s qualifying was good, but we knew we had even more pace, so obviously our target was to use that in free air. We went for an aggressive two-strop strategy to get Ollie into that free air, and everyone worked so well together to execute that. Ollie drove a fantastic race, it was very pleasing to watch.

“On Esteban’s side, we nearly scored points as well. We had an operational error during the VSC where we picked up a slow puncture, but we should’ve reacted sooner to pit. Unfortunately, Esteban finished P12 but with the pace he had, he could’ve been P7, so it’s a tough lesson for the team to maximise everything. The positive is that overall, the car is very strong since the Austin update.”

Racing Bulls

Lawson and Hadjar both went with the softs for the start, which worked out – Hadjar came close to picking off Piastri at the start and Lawson managed to get past Russell. Although he lost out to the Mercedes man, the Kiwi racer made a one-stop strategy work in Brazil, making his medium tyres last an impressive 52 laps. As for Hadjar, he wound up coming out in traffic after his second pit stop. He climbed back through the field, but ran out of time to get his team mate – despite a late tussle into Turn 1 between the duo which the stewards opted not to look at.

Isack Hadjar, 8th

“I think we showed some good moments today despite having a tough race overall. We struggled during the first stint and at some points throughout the race, I got stuck in traffic and had to play with damage limitation. I started to have more fun from mid-race onwards, and during the last laps where I got closer to Liam. I pushed the car a bit too much and I made a mistake in trying to overtake him, but we brought home a P7 and P8, which is a nice double-points finish for the team. We’ll regroup together to analyse what we could have done better before starting the last triple-header of the year in Las Vegas in two weeks."

Liam Lawson, 7th

"I'm super happy with today's result. It was very tough towards the end as we opted for a one stop strategy. The tyres were in good shape at that point, but it's super sensitive around here. If you push too much in one corner, you pay the price in the next one, therefore tyre management was key. On top of that, I was trying to manage energy to make sure I had power down the straights. The strategy worked well for us, so a big congratulations to the team - it's been a massive effort to have both cars in the points today.”

Alan Permane, Team Principal

“Firstly, congratulations to the whole team today! It’s been a barren spell for us, so to come back here and qualify so well, to then having both cars in the points is a superb effort. We didn’t have the pace of Bearman in the Haas today, but we outscore all our rivals in the Championship and give ourselves a healthier gap to 7th in the constructors championship. It was very close between both Liam and Isack; we split the strategies, and they ended up racing each other, which we trusted them to do, and Liam came out on top with an excellently managed one-stop strategy.

“We have two weeks until Las Vegas where we head into one of the toughest sequences of the year with the final triple header. What will be important is preparing well for Vegas but also making sure that everyone gets some time to recover and refresh.”

Kick Sauber

Bortoleto continued his weekend to forget on home soil. He tried to squeeze past Stroll at the start, getting just enough contact to lose control and go straight into the barriers. Out on the opening lap made it two crashes in two days for the Brazilian, which was a hard result for the team to take as well after they worked so hard to rebuild his car. But Hulkenberg gave Kick Sauber something to smile about, as one of just two drivers to try the one-stop strategy. He made a set of soft tyres last 38 laps to finish ninth, for a second points finish in the last three Grands Prix.

Nico Hulkenberg, 9th

“It was a decent race overall. The first lap wasn’t ideal - I lost a few positions and got stuck behind Alex [Albon] in the first stint, which made recovery tough. But we executed a strong one-stop strategy and managed to stretch the soft stint really well. That part was definitely a highlight. Of course, two points is something to take away, but in the bigger picture, we did lose a bit of ground in the championship fight, which isn’t ideal. Still, it’s all to play for - it’s super tight between the teams, and every race matters now with just three to go. The team did a great job on strategy, car prep and pit stop today.“

Gabriel Bortoleto, DNF

"It’s been a really tough weekend for me, even more so because it was my first home race and I was really hoping to have a good one in front of my family and fans. You always hope to do a good job, or at least have a solid race, and not being able to complete even a single lap was very hard to take in. I had a good start, gained a position right away, and was going for another move when I made contact with Lance [Stroll]. It was a first-lap racing incident, and these things can happen, that's racing. The support from our fans this weekend has been incredible. Even through the difficult moments, they kept cheering, shouting my name, and showing so much love. I can’t thank them enough - it means everything to me. Seeing how much it means to my country makes me proud, and I hope I can give them something to celebrate soon. Weekends like this are tough for everyone, but we’ll move on and come back stronger for the final three races of the season."

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal

"We’re leaving Brazil with mixed emotions. It was heartbreaking to see Gabi pushed wide on the opening lap of his first home Grand Prix, especially with such incredible support from the fans. Nico fought brilliantly all the way to the end, showing real composure. The pit crew once again delivered a rock-solid stop when it mattered most, performing flawlessly under pressure. We were fighting hard for P7, but the two Racing Bulls worked well together and made it tough to break through. Still, we are proud to come away with points on the board for the third consecutive race; a strong result for the whole team. Now it’s about recovery and preparation as we head into the final triple header, aiming to finish the season on a high."

Alpine

Colapinto was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the opening lap, picking up some damage after contact with Hamilton. But Gasly had a better opening lap, and race full stop. He scored for the second day running, and while it might be only one point, it is a morale-boosting one for the team. He had to pit early after starting on the softs, but fought back on the mediums and pulled off some overtakes on his way to his first Grand prix point since Belgium.

Pierre Gasly, 10th

“While I am happy to score another point today, I am a little disappointed that we did not score more as it felt the car had more pace than what we were able to show. I think having better track position earlier in the race might have benefitted us at the end. Still, no complaints, we score one point, which we will definitely take given our level at recent races and we will look into the data to see what we could have done differently and improve for next time. I was battling Isack [Hadjar] for most of the race. Twice I overtook him into Turn 1 and twice he got me back on the run to Turn 4. One of those tight battles which could have gone either way. At the end, it was just trying to hang on for the final point which was close at the end. It's been a very good weekend overall where we have been inside the top ten in every session. Brazil does seem to treat me well! Now we will have a short rest, a day of preparation at Enstone before we take on the final triple header to finish off the season.”

Franco Colapinto, 15th

“It was always going to be a difficult race from where we started, and it turned out to be a long afternoon managing tyres and running in dirty air. The rain which was around in the morning disappeared and everybody ran a similar race, with most people on two-stops. So, ultimately, we finished basically where we started and weren't able to make much progress. After the Sprint race and the full car rebuild, we just seemed to struggle a bit more and never recovered the same feeling or rhythm in the car. It didn't feel as planted and there was more sliding. This also meant we were fighting degradation a bit more on the tyres today and had to manage them during the race. We have a lot to review and will try to come back stronger in Las Vegas and try to finish the year on a positive note. Overall, we hoped for more from this weekend on track. The fans were amazing, as they always are at this race, and I could really feel their energy. Also, well done to the team and Pierre for picking up another point, which is another nice boost for the team.”

Steve Nielsen, Managing Director

“It's another point on the board and a race where we were competitive relative to some of the midfield cars who have been much faster than us all season. Pierre did an outstanding job to put himself in contention with a battling drive and one where he had to be strong in offense and resolute in defence, especially at the end of the race to cling on to that final point. Franco too showed spells of strong pace with his final stint bringing him back into the train of cars which finished in single file right up to the finish line for the points-paying positions. It's a weekend where we must dig deep into the numbers to understand why we had an upturn in performance. There are, of course, some areas we must improve, and will improve, and we have three races remaining to close off the season. We can take some confidence to Las Vegas and hopefully put ourselves in the mix again.”

Williams

Sainz made contact with Hamilton at the start in a racing incident, with Albon able to stay out of trouble. Like Mercedes, they had split strategies with Sainz on the softs and Albon the mediums. Both climbed up through the field, somehow keeping clear of the rest of the chaos to make it into the points. But despite both winding up on two-stop strategies like the majority, they could not find a way to hold onto those top 10 berths, with some of their fellow midfield runners just having better pace today.

Alex Albon, 11th

"It was a good race for the fans today but unfortunately for us it was a bit of a race to forget. We had good pace when we could show it. We've struggled with pace all weekend but seem to have recovered a little bit today. In the end what took us out of contention for points was that I think we stayed out too long on the first stint and we never really recovered from there. In the last stint we were quick and were fighting our way back up the grid and just missed out on a point at the end. It's frustrating that our rivals scored points today, but we will regroup and look forward to a better weekend in Las Vegas."

Carlos Sainz, 13th

"Not the day I was hoping for. Once I got squeezed on Turn 1, I had considerable damage to the car and my race was compromised from there. We managed to stay in the hunt for points most of the race but after a slow first stop and compiled with the damage, that was it unfortunately. Time to go back home and see what we can do in these types of circuits, as Qatar will also be a challenge. A few races to go, so we cannot relax. Let’s keep going."

James Vowles, Team Principal

"A race that had so much promise but did not deliver results. In the case of Carlos, his race was over unfortunately again at turn 1 as a result of contact, damaging the front wing and suffering a significant loss in aero load. He fought valiantly through the race but, with the damage, we were unable to score a point today. With Alex, we didn't get it all right today. There was a point available to us, and lots of different strategies were playing out up and down the grid. He did a brilliant job and P7 was just a few seconds in front of him, but ultimately, we weren't able to capitalise on that. We'll go back, review, make sure we understand how we can make ourselves stronger and head to Las Vegas where I'm confident we'll be back fighting for points."

Aston Martin

Aston Martin gambled with starting on the unfavoured hard tyre, which proved the wrong call – once again that tyre was too far off the pace. Stroll’s race was hampered by two early incidents, the first when the Canadian made contact with Bortoleto in a racing incident, the second when he was unfortunately punted into a spin by a guilty Tsunoda. That sent him to the back of the field, and he never managed to recover. As for Alonso, he two-stopped on his way to P14, that Sprint pace deserting the Aston Martin man in the Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso, 14th

"It wasn't a good day out there today. We took a risk starting on the Hard tyre and, unfortunately, it didn't pay off. To finish P14 is disappointing, especially after a strong Sprint yesterday. There weren't many opportunities with the pace we had, so we just tried to maximise what was possible. Now we will look ahead to Las Vegas and focus on finishing off the season strong in the final three races."

Lance Stroll, 16th

"Not the most positive weekend for us at Interlagos. We looked more competitive in the Sprint and less so in Qualifying and the race today. The incident with Yuki [Tsunoda] ended our chances in the race: we tried to come back, but just lost too much time there. The Hard tyre wasn't working well for us either, but in the end it was down to a lack of car pace. We go again in Las Vegas in two weeks' time and will see what we can do there."

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer

"We knew it would not be easy today and we lacked the pace to compete for points. We tried to do things differently with the strategy – with long opening stints on the Hard tyres – but we were missing the pace to challenge the cars ahead of us. Lance's race was impacted badly by the contact from Yuki [Tsunoda] on Lap 6, which dropped him to the back of the field. We had tried to build a tyre advantage offset for the final stages of the race, but most of the grid stopped twice and there were not many opportunities. We face a close battle in the Championship and we will use the next couple of weeks to regroup before Las Vegas later this month."

Pirelli

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director

“Interlagos always springs surprises and delivers fantastic racing. Last year it was the rain to provide the variable that enhanced the show; this year we saw a wide variety of race strategies, which – combined with the unique characteristics of this track – encouraged even more overtaking than normal.

"It was impressive to see Max Verstappen starting from the pitlane and getting onto the podium; the reigning world champion never stops amazing us. Congratulations also to young Kimi Antonelli, who managed to defend his second place bravely, and of course to Lando Norris, who sealed a great win from pole.

"As we expected the soft and the medium were favoured, and a two-stop strategy was the most common. The degradation levels on the tyres, combined with some early pit stops to take advantage of the neutralisation periods at the start of the race, probably pushed the teams towards that choice, putting the emphasis on the two softer compounds.

"The hard didn't really come into play, as it tended to slide a lot on a surface that had been ‘reset’ by the rain the morning. The pit stop windows were different for each driver, creating performance differentials that helped overtaking and gave us a great show as a result.

"The only two drivers who finished the grand prix with just one stop obviously had to work their tyres harder than the others, who experienced wear and graining levels that were lower than yesterday. Nonetheless, Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg showed today that a one-stopper was also a perfectly valid strategy. And it's been a long time since we saw such a wide variety of strategies using different compounds, from one to three stops, end up scoring points at the end of a dry race.”