Sao Paulo GP: Max Verstappen clinches 17th win of the season as Fernando Alonso thrills
Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen won his 17th Formula One race of the season in Brazil on Sunday, while Fernando Alonso provided the thrills in a red-flagged and re-started Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
McLaren's Lando Norris finished second, 8.2 seconds behind but with a bonus point for fastest lap, while Aston Martin's Alonso finished third, edging Red Bull's Sergio Perez by a whisker.
Verstappen, now fourth all-time and ahead of French great Alain Prost after his 52nd career victory, won the title in Qatar last month, while Red Bull also retained the constructors' title.
So far, the champions have won 19 of 20 races, including the last five in a row.
The victory increased his lead over Perez to 266 points, with the Mexican now 32 points ahead of Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton in the overall standings.
While the Dutch driver's victory seemed inevitable, Alonso provided late thrills with a dramatic battle with Perez in which he displayed all the attacking fire and defensive skill of a double world champion.
The Spaniard finished 0.053 seconds ahead of the Mexican after Perez passed him on the penultimate lap and Alonso, the race's oldest competitor at 42, reclaimed the position on the final lap.
"It was like 30 laps when I had the pressure from Checo (Perez)," he said. "When he passed me two laps to the end, I thought 'okay, this is gone, the podium is not possible anymore.' This is a phenomenal result for the team. We have been struggling for a couple of months, especially the last two events with two retirements."
Norris, who started Saturday's sprint from pole position, described his performance as "as good as we can get nowadays and for the time being."
The podium was the 13th of the Briton's career, tying him with Nick Heidfeld for the most top-three finishes without a win.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll finished fifth, ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, Alpine's Pierre Gasly, and Hamilton, whose Mercedes team had their worst result of the season.
AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda finished ninth, and Alpine's Esteban Ocon took the final point.
George Russell, last year's winner for Mercedes, retired from 11th place due to an overheating power unit that was about to fail.
Ferrari was dealt a blow before the race even began when Charles Leclerc, who qualified on the front row, crashed out on the formation lap but still managed to gain ground on Mercedes in the standings.
Norris benefited the most, charging from sixth to second into the first corner and racing past the two Aston Martins on the inside while Hamilton did the same on the outside.
A collision into the first corner involving Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, as well as Williams' Alex Albon, brought out the safety car before the race was red-flagged for tyre barrier repairs.
Verstappen took the lead again from the standing re-start, with Norris holding second and putting some early pressure on the Red Bull driver before the challenge faded, and Alonso passing Hamilton for third.
The red flags aided McLaren's Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, who was caught up in the first-lap carnage but whose mechanics were able to repair the damage and get him back out from a pitlane start thanks to the red flags.
Daniel Ricciardo, whose AlphaTauri's rear wing was broken by a bouncing tyre during the first start, was also given a second chance.
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