WHAT. A. RACE.
Round 21 of the 2024 Formula One season is in the books, and boy, was it a good one. São Paulo brought arguably the most stressful and entertaining race we have seen in some time. With the conditions being extremely poor, it was truly anyone's game for the race. We saw multiple crashes, safety cars, red flags, and even the first black flag since 2007.
Before we jump into the current standings for both Championships and take a look into what happened at the São Paulo Grand Prix, a couple of things to mention:
Authors Note 1: The Formula One Season has two main championship competitions. The first is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition between the individual drivers. The drivers who finish in the top 10 each weekend will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship. The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (E.g., Lando Norris has scored 331 points, and Oscar Piastri has scored 262 points, giving the McLaren team 593 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.
Author's Note 2: This weekend's race was a sprint-style format. A sprint race is a race with fewer laps that gives the drivers an opportunity to score extra points. It is meant to not only help the drivers, but also give the fans more racing action. Instead of the normal weekend format (Three practice sessions, qualifying, and the race), a sprint weekend format is a little different. There will be only one practice session, and two qualifying sessions (one for the sprint race and one for the main race). The sprint race will occur between the sprint qualifying session (AKA sprint shootout) and the main race qualifying session.
Author's Note 3: 23 drivers will be listed on the Drivers' Championship. Oliver Bearman was a replacement driver for Carlos Sainz for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and Kevin Magnussen for the São Paulo Grand Prix. Also, Franco Calapinto has replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams, and Liam Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardo at RB for the remainder of the season.
Here is a look at the current Drivers' and Constructors' standings before the race weekend:
Drivers' Championship Standings:
Max Verstappen 393 points
Lando Norris 331 points
Charles Leclerc 307 points
Oscar Piastri 262 points
Carlos Sainz 244 points
George Russell 192 points
Lewis Hamilton 190 points
Sergio Perez 151 points
Fernando Alonso 62 points
Nico Hulkenberg 31 points
Yuki Tsunoda 24 points
Pierre Gasly 26 points
Lance Stroll 24 points
Esteban Ocon 23 points
Kevin Magnussen 14 points
Alexander Albon 12 points
Daniel Ricciardo 12 points
Oliver Bearman 7 points
Franco Colapinto 5 points
Liam Lawson 2 points
Zhou Guanyu 0 points
Logan Sargeant 0 points
Valtteri Bottas 0 points
Constructor's Championship Standings:
McLaren 593 points
Ferrari 557 points
Red Bull 544 points
Mercedes 382 points
Aston Martin 86 points
Alpine 49 points
Haas 46 points
Racing Bulls 44 points
Williams 17 points
Kick Sauber 0 points
Standings were found at F1.com.
Alpine
I mean, wow. Just wow.
Alpine achieved the improbable this weekend, pulling off a performance that very few believed was possible for them this season. For the sprint, Esteban Ocon qualified 17th and finished 13th, while Pierre Gasly qualified and finished 7th. For the Grand Prix, Ocon started 4th and finished 2nd, while Gasly started 14th and finished 3rd.
Wet conditions on the track always bring some sort of unpredictability to a race weekend. However, if you had told me that the wet conditions would make Alpine, which has been one of the bottom three teams overall this season, one of the fastest cars of the weekend, I would not have believed you. Yes, Alpine has improved since the end of the summer break with their upgrades, but the wet conditions brought out the absolute best performance of the car.
Though the Sprint was not anything special for Alpine, Ocon and Gasly had their best Grand Prix of the season. Both drivers were amazingly able to hold on to their podium positions despite the likes of the McLarens, Ferraris, and the Mercedes of George Russell. Alpine, most importantly, also jumped from 9th in the Constructors' Championship all the way to 6th after a single race weekend.
Not only was this majorly impressive, but this could also result in a massive payout for the team. The difference in earnings for a team that finishes 9th in the Constructors' vs. 6th is huge, with Alpine potentially earning themselves an extra estimated $26 million.
The entire team has so much to be proud of after this weekend. After what was an extremely tough season, with the car starting off extremely slow, and upgrades taking longer than anticipated, Alpine finally can enjoy the fruit of its labor.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin is in the middle of a nightmare they cannot wake up from, as their poor performance got even worse this weekend in Brazil. For the Sprint, Fernando Alonso started 16th and finished 18th, while Lance Stroll started and finished 19th. For the Grand Prix, Alonso started 9th and finished 14th, while Stroll started 10th and did not start the race due to beaching his car in a gravel trap on the formation lap.
It becomes more and more clear each race weekend that Aston Martin no longer cares about this season, but rather their future next year and 2026. The car keeps getting worse by the race weekend, with no sign of improving whatsoever. Stroll was embarrassingly bad as well. He spun out on a formation lap, then, whether he knew it was there or not, decided to drive through a gravel trap, which beached his car. One can forgive spinning out, as the conditions were horrific, but not being aware that there was a gravel trap in front of you is inexcusable.
Alonso, on the other hand, gave it everything he had, but it was only enough to finish 14th in the Grand Prix and 18th in the Sprint. If a driver as talented as Alonso can't even sniff points, there is something extremely wrong with the car.
Overall, a horrible weekend for Aston Martin. Even with this weekend being as embarrassing as it was, the worst part is that it probably will not get any better.
Ferrari
Ferrari came back down to Earth during this insane weekend in Brazil. For the sprint, Carlos Sainz started and finished in 5th, while Charles Leclerc started and finished in 3rd. For the Grand Prix, Sainz started 13th and did not finish the race after spinning out into the wall, while Leclerc started 6th and finished 5th.
After a solid Sprint race, Ferrari fell victim to the red flag barrage during the Grand Prix Qualifying session. It knocked Sainz out of Q3, while also preventing Leclerc from getting a solid lap in Q3.
Had Sainz not crashed, Ferrari would be going into Las Vegas much more comfortable with their position. Leclerc was solid all race long, while Sainz was driving inside the top 10 before his incident.
Ferrari is still very much in the race to win the Constructors' Championship and should be looking forward to Las Vegas in a few weeks' time, a race at which they performed very well last year.
Haas
The weekend overall did not go the way Haas hoped for. For the Sprint, Nico Hulkenberg qualified 12th and did not finish the race, while replacement driver Oliver Bearman qualified 10th and finished 14th. For the Grand Prix, Hulkenberg started 19th and was disqualified from the race due to receiving outside assistance before the car continued, while Bearman started 16th and finished 12th.
The biggest takeaway from this weekend for Haas is that their car just is not suited for wet conditions. They had no legitimate pace in the rain, as both drivers struggled to keep themselves on the track. Hulkenberg also received the first black flag (which is similar to a red card in soccer) since 2007.
Though they are now behind Alpine in the Constructors' Standings, Haas should not be overly concerned. They have been consistently faster than Alpine this season, and with the last three races likely to be dry, they should have no problem gaining the place back.
Kick Sauber
Sauber did Sauber things this weekend. For the Sprint, Valtteri Bottas started 15th and finished 16th, while Zhou Guanyu started 20th and finished 17th. For the Grand Prix, Bottas started 11th and finished 13th while Zhou started 20th and finished 15th (last due to the DNFs of other drivers).
The only thing to really take away at this point for Sauber is that Bottas is a much better driver than Zhou. Compared to that of Bottas, Zhou's pace is completely off, not even coming close to his teammate (finishing over a second behind Bottas in Qualifying and around 16 seconds off Bottas in the Grand Prix). Sauber may really go an entire season without scoring a single point for the first time in four years.
McLaren
McLaren's start to the weekend was great, but the finish was less than ideal. For the Sprint, Oscar Piastri started 1st and finished 2nd, while Lando Norris started 2nd and finished 1st. For the Grand Prix, Piastri started and finished 8th, while Norris started 1st and finished 6th.
Everything was going well for McLaren until the wet conditions hit. Once the rain started, McLaren's pace started to even out with the rest of the field, causing them to struggle to keep up at times. Norris made a couple of costly mistakes, running wide and losing places multiple times, while Piastri never really found enough pace to gain any ground to the cars ahead of them.
The biggest note for McLaren is that any hope of catching Max Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship is gone. Though it is still possible mathematically, all Verstappen needs to do is finish the weekend in Las Vegas at least 60 points ahead of Norris (he is 62 points ahead currently). Basically, if Verstappen finishes ahead of Norris, or within a point of Norris, he officially wins the Drivers' Championship.
McLaren needs to put all their attention on winning the Constructors' Championship. With Ferrari only 36 points behind, it is no longer a sure thing for McLaren to remain atop the Standings.
Mercedes
Mercedes had a conflicting weekend, with one driver performing well and the other struggling mightily. For the Sprint, George Russell qualified and finished 6th, While Lewis Hamilton qualified and finished 11th. For the Grand Prix, Russell started 2nd and finished 4th, while Hamilton started 15th and finished 10th.
Mercedes has been struggling all season long to provide a competitive car for both drivers. Russell was fantastic this weekend, providing a result that probably outperformed the car. He was competitive all weekend long, and had it not been for an unlucky red flag in the Grand Prix, he could have won it. Hamilton, on the other hand, struggled more this weekend than he has his entire career. He gave it everything he had, yet had no pace compared to Russell, and could not make up any ground, despite the wet conditions and multiple red flags throughout the weekend.
Of course, Mercedes and Hamilton are parting ways at the end of this season, and both have clearly stated they will do everything they can to make this season the best it can be; yet Russell is consistently faster than Lewis on most occasions. It makes sense that any upgrade package or car changes would go to Russell's car first, since he is not the one leaving, but it is strange to see Hamilton so far off Russell's pace. One can only hope the greatest driver in F1 history is able to finish his last three races with Mercedes on a high note.
Racing Bulls
RB had a fantastic weekend all around in Brazil, taking full advantage of the wet conditions. For the Sprint, Yuki Tsunoda started 18th and finished 15th, while Liam Lawson started 8th and finished 9th. For the Grand Prix, Tsunoda started 3rd and finished 7th, while Lawson started 5th and finished 9th.
Despite Yuki's Sprint Qualifying performance, Red Bull produced at a very high level. Similar to Alpine, Red Bull had a brilliant Grand Prix Qualifying session and was able to stay within the points in an extremely challenging Grand Prix.
For Tsunoda, he needed a weekend like this desperately. Having been outperformed by Lawson since Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo, he needed to show Red Bull why he should still be considered for the Red Bull seat for next season. Tsunoda did all he could to produce, and he came away with a great result.
Lawson was also great this weekend. The poor conditions did not seem to faze him like it did the other young drivers. He was consistent all weekend long, which for him, is extremely important when making his case for a Red Bull seat.
Red Bull
STATEMENT. MADE.
Red Bull (well, just Max Verstappen) defied the odds this weekend, reminding the world that he is still the best driver in Formula One. For the Sprint, Verstappen started and finished in 4th, while Sergio Perez started 13th and finished 8th. For the Grand Prix, Verstappen started 17th and won the race (also getting the fastest lap of the race), while Perez started 12th and finished 11th.
Despite the impossible conditions, Verstappen cut through the field like butter, producing one of, if not the most, impressive races of his career. Only five other drivers have won a race from starting 17th, and Verstappen did it in wet conditions, while winning by almost 20 seconds. He absolutely dominated every aspect of the Grand Prix, shutting down any thought that he would not wit his 4th world title. The most impressive part was that his car was not even the fastest car. You could have made an argument that Ferrari, McLaren, and George Russell's Mercedes were quicker in pace. Yet, Verstappen outperformed the car, per usual, producing on of the most impressive drives we have seen in a long time.
With the Drivers' Championship all but official now, Red Bull will try and see if they can put together a last-ditch effort to make ground in the Constructors'. However, with Perez not scoring points consistently, that hope may be far fetched.
Williams
Williams' worst case scenario came to fruition this weekend, producing a costly performance for the team in more ways than one. For the Sprint, Alex Albon qualified 9th and finished 10th, while Franco Colapinto qualified 14th and finished 12th. For the Grand Prix, Albon did not participate in the race due to a crash he had in Qualifying, while Colapinto started 18th and did not finish the race after crashing in the pit lane.
Williams, unfortunately, could not have drawn up a worse end to the weekend than what happened in Brazil. They were unable to fix Albon's car in time for the race, while also moving down to 9th place in the Constructors' Standings after Alpine's big weekend.
This weekend, as well as the season as a whole, has been disappointing for Williams. With two talented drivers in their cars right now, there is still a good possibility to finish the season strong, however there is no doubt this weekend in Brazil will set them back financially.
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Catch you next time!
-Matt Hylen
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