Ferrari F1 Brazil GP race report: Charles Leclerc P5, Carlos Sainz DNF in Sao Paulo

11/03/2024 12:59 PM

Here is our full text transcript from round 21 of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the Brazilian Grand Prix:

Securing pole position in wet conditions while his championship rival languishes in provisional P17 after nearly being eliminated in Q1—what an unexpected turn of events! This scenario was ideal for the McLaren driver, as it provided a crucial opportunity to sustain his chances in the World Championship race during the final stages of the 2024 season.

After struggling in Q1 amidst challenging track conditions, Norris managed to regain his confidence as the surface began to dry. The performance of the MCL38 shone through as the conditions improved, culminating in an outstanding display by the British driver in Q3.

Williams have confirmed Alex Albon will not take place in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix due to damage sustained in his huge qualifying crash. Albon reached Q3 but had an accident at Turn 1. Williams add that Franco Colapinto’s car should be ready to start the race. We also had confirmation from Ferrari that Carlos Sainz will start from the pit lane after Ferrari needed to change his power unit and gearbox following that qualifying shunt.

Former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello talks to Sky Sports F1 about Lewis Hamilton driving Ayrton Senna’s 1990 McLaren:

“It’s been awesome. I hope that we have this more often because I would love to drive that car too. What a fantastic weekend, what a fantastic moment for us to have.”

Former Ferrari and Williams driver Felipe Massa speaking to Sky Sports F1’s Rachel Brookes:

“It’s amazing, it’s the best place for me here, this grid at Interlagos. I’m sure we will have a nice race to watch and a nice championship. I’m so happy to be here and Interlagos is so special.”

What inters and wets are left for each driver? By going further in qualifying and reach Q3, both McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have no more new sets of intermediates. Max Verstappen on the other hand has three sets of new intermediates but starts down in 17th.

What will the Interlagos weather have in store? You never quite know here, as we have seen again over the past few days, but it seems likely we’ll get more rain – the question is just how much…

All 19 drivers are on intermediates. That’s 19 because Alex Albon has withdrawn from the race due to damage. Carlos Sainz will start from the pit lane. Lando Norris – who has still only converted one pole in F1 into a lap-one lead – leads the field away on the formation lap. A chance to assess the latest grip levels on those intermediates they are all running.

It is only the formation lap and Lance Stroll has lost control of his car at Turn Four. The rear of the car goes under braking. He gets going again but now is beached in the gravel!

Remarkable scenes as a few cars, including Max Verstappen, don’t leave the grid after the aborted start. Verstappen thinks the drivers at the front should have waited to go. Eventually, Verstappen and some of the other drivers leave the grid but there will be a long wait for Lando Norris now.

All cars are back on the grid again and now the mechanics are heading back to their respective cars. A second formation lap will take place at 3.47pm. Near-total confusion here, but replays confirm there was no green light on the gantry when Lando Norris led most of the field away after the aborted start message.

Lap 1/70: George Russell takes the lead of the race from Lando Norris. The Mercedes for the better launch and took the lead before the Senna S. Yuki Tsunoda holds third with Esteban Ocon still fourth. Charles Leclerc up one to fifth. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen both make up spots. They are battling over 10th, so Verstappen has gained six places already. Sergio Perez spins by himself at Turn 10 and he’s at the back of the field. A terrible start for the Mexican.

Lap 2/70: The world championship leader is already into the points after getting Lewis Hamilton for 10th at the start of the second lap. Sixteen places between Lando and Max at the start – just eight now.

Lap 3/70: George Russell is two seconds in front of Lando Norris as the drivers report heavy rain in the final sector. The top two are already four seconds clear of Yuki Tsunoda in third.

Lap 5/70: Norris sets back-to-back fastest laps and is just 0.9s behind Russell. No DRS though in these wet conditions.

An incident between Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman, which we haven’t seen on the TV feed as yet, is also under investigation by the stewards, who are having a busy start to this race. Bearman has dropped to 16th, while Colapinto is 13th. George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson have all been noted for the same starting infringement as Lando Norris, where they left the grid when the start was aborted.

Lap 10/70: Verstappen dives down the inside at Turn One and gets by Piastri, who left the door open. The championship leader is on a charge in seventh place now.

Lap 12/70: Lewis Hamilton runs wide at Turn 12 and takes a trip through the grass. Franco Colapinto then attacks him into Turn One and Hamilton is down to 13th. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, now takes sixth away from what it must be said was a fairly compliant Liam Lawson. Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari is 1s up the road.

Lap 14/70: Lando Norris is one second behind George Russell as the pair match each other lap for lap. Two seconds separates third-placed Yuki Tsunoda from sixth-placed Max Verstappen, with Esteban Ocon and Charles Leclerc between the RB and Red Bull.

Lap 17/70: Charles Leclerc in fifth is starting to apply a little extra pressure on Esteban Ocon ahead of him, with Max Verstappen keeping a watching brief behind both for now. Yuki Tsunoda continues to run nicely ahead of all three, 1.1s clear of Ocon, while George Russell moves 1.6 seconds clear of Lando Norris. That’s the biggest gap he’s had in this lead battle for a while.

Lap 19/70: Lando Norris is within one second of George Russell again. He visibly has more grip in the middle sector with that bigger rear wing than the Mercedes.

Lap 21/70: Lewis Hamilton again reports that his Mercedes car is “undriveable”, with braking and handling issues, after losing position to both Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman in quick succession. Hamilton now runs back in 15th.

Lap 22/70: Charles Leclerc covers the inside and forces Max Verstappen to the outside at Turn One. The Ferrari driver keeps him at bay and Verstappen tries again into Turn Five but backs out of it.

Lap 24/69: We have said that a few times haven’t we! Norris is just sitting behind Russell as he can’t get close enough to make a move.

Lap 25/69: Charles Leclerc pits but it is not for the full wet tyre, it is for another set of intermediates. Leclerc comes back out in 13th place. Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins is surprised by that decision.

Lap 26/69: Liam Lawson has a moment at the first corner and re-joins the track in ninth place. The rain is starting to increase at Interlagos.

Lap 28/69: We have a Virtual Safety Car as it looks like Nico Hulkenberg is out of the race at Turn One. McLaren chose to pit one of their cars, but not Lando Norris, under the VSC with Oscar Piastri. Fernando Alonso followed him in, as did a number of drivers further down the order.

Lap 29/69: This is chaos as George Russell and Lando Norris pit with the Virtual Safety Car ending. Russell remains ahead but Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen stay out. Ocon leads the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with Verstappen in second!

Lap 29/69: Nico Hulkenberg managed to restart his car and that’s why the VSC ended suddenly. This is chaos. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastrii has been given a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision against Liam Lawson.

Lap 30/69: Russell is going slowly and Norris gets by! So Norris is now in fourth.

Lap 30/69: And now we have a Safety Car due to the heavy rain. Take a deep breath everyone. Esteban Ocon leads and Max Verstappen is second, Pierre Gasly is third then comes Lando Norris and George Russell.

Lap 31/69: Esteban Ocon, the new race leader, is told over Alpine team radio that this level of rain should reduce in a couple of minutes’ time.

Red flag: Franco Colapinto has a massive crash on the run up the hill towards the finish line and the Sao Paulo Grand Prix has been stopped. This will be a big gain for Esteban Ocon, Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly who haven’t pitted in this race. They can all get new tyres under this red flag

Colapinto simply lost control of his car on a part of the track which is comfortably flat in the dry.

It looks like he aquaplaned and was a passenger. That’s the third big crash for a Williams today after Colapinto had an accident in qualifying, as did Alex Albon, whose shunt was so big he could not start the race. Given the budget cap rules, Williams could be in a spot of bother.

So in the last 10 minutes, Nico Hulkenberg has been noted for receiving assistance and continuing.

Lewis Hamilton has also been noted for causing a collision with Liam Lawson.

Nico Hulkenberg has been given the black flag, which means he is disqualified. We assume that’s for receiving assistance after his off moment which we never saw.

Confirmation of the restart time from Race Control. It’ll be a rolling start rather than another from the grid. Esteban Ocon will lead the pack away, with Max Verstappen right behind…

The drivers are getting back into their cars and we are not even at the halfway mark of this Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Who knows what else will happen? Just keeping it on the track will be hard enough!

Lap 33/69: The Safety Car leads the field back onto the track for a rolling start. Esteban Ocon will lead the field away from Max Verstappen at the end of this lap.

Lap 34/69: Just the one lap with the Safety Car at the front, which then peels off, and then Esteban Ocon leads the field away to hold the lead from Max Verstappen. Well judged from the Frenchman there. Lando Norris goes deep at Turn Four and George Russsell is through. Norris down to fifth place!

Lap 35/69: He’s had a fairly miserable old weekend so far, but Lewis Hamilton is typically hanging in there and is now into ninth after a pass into Turn One on old rival Fernando Alonso.

Lap 36/69: Oliver Bearman runs wide at Turn Six and touches the barriers. He manages to reverse out though and carries on, albeit at the back of the field.

Lap 39/69: He may not be making an impression on Esteban Ocon for the race lead yet, but Max Verstappen holds a comfortable lead of nine seconds over title rival Lando Norris. The Red Bull driver also has two cars – Gasly and Russell – between them.

Lap 40/69: Carlos Sainz spins at Turn Eight and is in the wall. The Safety Car is deployed immediately and Sainz looks to be out of the race. That’s his second accident today after a hefty shunt in qualifying.

Lap 43/69: The perfect restart for Max Verstappen – but a disastrous one for Lando Norris. While Max seized the lead this time from Ocon into Turn One, Norris ran wide behind in the braking zone and has dropped down to SEVENTH! It’s all gone wrong for Lando Norris in the space of one corners. He loses a couple of spots and Max Verstappen leads the Sao Paulo GP.

Lap 44/69: Fernando Alonso runs wide at Turn 12 and is at the back of the field after going through the grass. Lewis Hamilton was struggling at the restart too and is in 11th.

Lap 45/69: Textbook stuff from Max Verstappen here in the first laps since the restart. He has opened a 2.3-second lead over Esteban Ocon, with Pierre Gasly a further second adrift in the second Alpine. Lando Norris remains seventh behind team-mate Oscar Piastri.

Lap 48/69: Max Verstappen is four seconds ahead of Esteban Ocon as he sets a new fastest lap of the race. This is seriously impressive.

Lap 51/69: Charles Leclerc’s incident at Turn Four for allegedly rejoining the track unsafely requires no further investigation. He is still half a second ahead of a frustrated Lando Norris in the battle for fifth.

Lap 52/69: Both McLarens certainly don’t have the pace or confidence they displayed in he dry. After going in deep over the kerb and a little bit of the grass at the final corner, Oscar Piastri had to go into defence mode to stay ahead of Yuki Tsunoda all the way down to the Turn One braking zone.

Lap 54/69: Max Verstappen is seven seconds in front of Esteban Ocon, with Pierre Gasly in third. Alpine are on for an incredible double podium here! Meanwhile, Lando Norris can’t do anything about Charles Leclerc.

Lap 56/69: Lawson and Perez went wheel-to-wheel all the way down the Senna S as the latter went on the attack to try and gain ninth. But, just as in Mexico, Lawson wasn’t having any of it and fended the Red Bull off, with the two cars almost or just touching wheels. To make matters worse for Perez, he then lost ninth when Lewis Hamilton overtook out of Turn Four.

Lap 62/69: Can George Russell ruin Alpine’s double podium? The Mercedes driver is on Pierre Gasly’s tail but has he got enough grip, speed and time to make a move?

Lap 66/69: Nobody is able to lap in the 1:20s right now apart from Max Verstappen. Lando Norris drops three seconds behind Charles Leclerc, so it looks like any charge towards the front is not going to happen. It’s Lawson vs Hamilton vs Perez for ninth through 11th in these closing laps.

Chequered flag: What a stunning win in treacherous conditions from all the way back on the grid for Max Verstappen. He wins by 19 seconds and moves to the brink of his fourth world title. He can clinch it in Vegas if he beats Norris again. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished second and third on a bumper day for Alpine! Charles Leclerc finishes in P5 for Ferrari.

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