BRAZIL: NORRIS WINS, BUT WHAT A COMEBACK FROM VERSTAPPEN. ANTONELLI FINISHES SECOND

Norris triumphs at Interlagos ahead of Antonelli, who manages to keep a flying Max Verstappen behind him. The Dutchman, starting from the pit lane due to several component changes, recovered all the way up to third place. Piastri makes mistakes and finishes only fifth. Disaster for Ferrari. Hamilton retired after colliding with Colapinto, and Leclerc is hit by Antonelli. Great weekend for Bearman and for the two Racing Bulls cars. With three races remaining, Ferrari slips to fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, behind Mercedes and Red Bull.

GIOVANNI’S COMMENTARY
The first truly lively race of the year, helped by a qualifying session that shook up the grid. The early-race incidents hit Ferrari hardest, costing them a real chance to fight for the podium.

Norris was once again the standout of the weekend. The Brit continues to score heavily and is now very close to the overall title. Piastri continues to struggle, effectively handing the championship to his teammate. A crisis for the Australian that seems never-ending — now it’s up to him to reset and try to challenge his teammate.

Mercedes was one of the surprise teams of the weekend. Antonelli did a brilliant job, staying ahead of his teammate in every session and securing the second podium of his career. Russell struggled more but still collected important points for the constructors’ standings. The Silver Arrows leave Brazil second in the standings with just three races to go.

Verstappen was exceptional. After a terrible start to the weekend, he and the team chose to start from the pit lane. Verstappen produced an incredible comeback that showcased his full talent. Tsunoda once again disappeared in the midfield.

Racing Bulls return to the points with both drivers. Lawson delivered an excellent tyre management strategy and strong wheel-to-wheel racing. Crucial points in the Constructors’ fight. At Haas, Bearman enjoyed another excellent weekend, once again outperforming his teammate despite being a rookie. Ocon continues to prove he is not at the level required for F1, and certainly not a driver capable of adding value to his team. I hope they replace him with a young driver to build a lineup capable of performing in the future.

Bortoleto, racing at home, could not perform at his usual level. Two crashes across the two races forced a double retirement. Hülkenberg did everything well and brought back more points. Gasly pulled off a minor miracle to finish in the points for Alpine. Colapinto continues to be anonymous. The renewal of the Argentine seems to be yet another failure on the part of Flavio Briatore. The Italian chose to keep a driver who is not F1-level and continues not to deliver performances of value.

Williams once again looked quite disastrous, with multiple team errors negating any chance of reaching the points.
Aston Martin continues its up-and-down season. The pace returned in Brazil, but the points did not.

And finally, Ferrari. The Maranello team started the weekend slowly, but thanks to a piece of magic from Leclerc, they worked their way into the front rows. The incident involving Antonelli and Piastri destroyed their chance to fight for the podium. Hamilton once again lost in the midfield. The Brit misjudged the start, hitting Colapinto and damaging his car beyond recovery. Another weekend to forget for the Prancing Horse, now increasingly far from second place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Author: Gabriele Bovio