The Sao Paulo GP gave fans a race to remember with the battle that ensued between Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso for P3. While fans sat on the edge of their seats in anticipation of who would come out on top, even the F1 drivers followed the tense battle with full concentration. Max Verstappen was one such driver who got a bit too involved in the battle, forgetting about his own race and nearly crashing out.
Max Verstappen breaks Alberto Ascaris 71 year old record for highest win percentage in a season of 75%
Max currently has 85% and even if he loses the last 2 races he will end the season on 77.2% race wins. Greatest season by a single driver of all time. pic.twitter.com/v7VfFtKcCX
— Enzo (@Aperta) November 5, 2023
In the closing stages of the 71-lap race, Perez and Alonso went at each other like Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa. Fighting an intense battle for the final place on the podium, the world looked on to see who would win the battle. Reacting to the battle after the race, Verstappen told the Dutch Media (interview clip and translation uploaded on X by ‘Nini’) that he almost went off the track while trying to see what was happening on the big screen.
“Around the last 2-3 laps, I was already watching! I almost even went off track watching it! When I saw those two fighting on the straight, in turn 4, I almost went straight across, off track!”
While driving what was obviously an underperforming car against the mighty RB19, Alonso used all his experience to fend off a challenge from Perez. The Spaniard opted against using the same racing line through each lap, causing doubt in Perez’s mind about his next move while ensuring the Mexican did not get clean air through any of the final laps. Even though the 33-year-old managed to overtake Alonso in the 70th lap, the Asturian stood his ground to retake the place in the final lap and win the race by a margin of only 0.053 seconds. Meanwhile, Verstappen, who was cruising to his 17th race win of the season, nearly lost the plot because of the same.
Max Verstappen secured another race but not without competition from McLaren
With few laps remaining in the race, P1 and P2 were all but certain as the battle for P3 raged on. Given his lead, Verstappen thought it wouldn’t be too bad of an idea to catch glimpses of one of the battles of the season, with his teammate vying for his ninth podium of the season. Had the Dutchman gone off track, the battle for P3 would’ve become the war for P2, ensuring anarchy would ensue as Lando Norris would then vie for his first-ever F1 race win.
This team. 🧡#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/X37dTylCE2
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 5, 2023
While it did not happen, and the three-time World Champion cruised past the Chequered Flag, the early stages of the race looked like there could be a fight for the race win, too. Norris came agonizingly close to overtaking Max Verstappen after the race restart, but some smart defense by the Dutchman closed all doors for the McLaren driver. Even though Norris could not give much competition to Verstappen thereafter, it still set the tone for the coming season, with McLaren looking like the team that will take the fight to Red Bull for the constructor’s championship next season.
As Norris scored his seventh podium of the season, it was a heartbreaking race for Oscar Piastri, who became an unsolicited victim of the crash between Magnussen and Albon, putting an end to his race. While the Woking-based team was upset only one of their cars could see the Chequered Flag, there is still an air of excitement within the camp, given their incredible rise throughout the season. They have become the second-fastest team on the grid and the number one contender to oust Red Bull as the constructor’s champion next season.
