São Paulo
RACE REACTIONS
What the drivers
had to say after
racing in Sao Paulo
Alpine
Pierre
GASLY
“While I am happy to score another point, I am a little disappointed that we did not score more as it felt the car had more pace than what we were able to show. I think having better track position earlier in the race might have benefitted us at the end. Still, no complaints, we score one point, which we will definitely take given our level at recent races and we will look into the data to see what we could have done differently and improve for next time. I was battling Isack [Hadjar] for most of the race. Twice I overtook him into Turn 1 and twice he got me back on the run to Turn 4. One of those tight battles which could have gone either way. At the end, it was just trying to hang on for the final point which was close. It's been a very good weekend overall where we have been inside the top ten in every session. Brazil does seem to treat me well! Now we will have a short rest, a day of preparation at Enstone before we take on the final triple header to finish off the season.”
Franco
COLAPINTO
“It was always going to be a difficult race from where we started, and it turned out to be a long afternoon managing tyres and running in dirty air. The rain which was around in the morning disappeared and everybody ran a similar race, with most people on two-stops. So, ultimately, we finished basically where we started and weren't able to make much progress. After the Sprint race and the full car rebuild, we just seemed to struggle a bit more and never recovered the same feeling or rhythm in the car. It didn't feel as planted and there was more sliding. This also meant we were fighting degradation a bit more on the tyres and had to manage them during the race. We have a lot to review and will try to come back stronger in Las Vegas and try to finish the year on a positive note. Overall, we hoped for more from this weekend on track. The fans were amazing, as they always are at this race, and I could really feel their energy. Also, well done to the team and Pierre for picking up another point, which is another nice boost for the team.”
Aston Martin
Lance
STROLL
"Not the most positive weekend for us at Interlagos. We looked more competitive in the Sprint and less so in Qualifying and the race. The incident with Yuki [Tsunoda] ended our chances in the race: we tried to come back, but just lost too much time there. The hard tyre wasn't working well for us either, but in the end it was down to a lack of car pace. We go again in Las Vegas in two weeks' time and will see what we can do there."
Fernando
ALONSO
"It wasn't a good day out there. We took a risk starting on the hard tyre and, unfortunately, it didn't pay off. To finish P14 is disappointing, especially after a strong Sprint. There weren't many opportunities with the pace we had, so we just tried to maximise what was possible. Now we will look ahead to Las Vegas and focus on finishing off the season strong in the final three races."
Ferrari
Charles
LECLERC
"It’s a shame to end with a DNF. I was collateral damage of an incident between Kimi [Antonelli] and Oscar [Piastri] who collided and touched my car as a result. It’s frustrating, considering that we are fighting for second place in the Constructors’ Championship. It will be difficult for us to secure that position now, and we have to execute the next three weekends perfectly to have a chance to do so. The reaction of our whole team who turned the situation around completely from Friday to [Sunday] has been a really good effort."
Lewis
HAMILTON
"Definitely a race to forget. After making contact on the first lap, the damage we picked up cost us a lot of downforce and made the rear very difficult to manage. Despite the team’s attempts to find a way forward, the lack of competitiveness combined with the penalty meant we eventually had to retire the car. Definitely not how I wanted to end the week, but I’m grateful to the Brazilian fans for their incredible support as always. We’ve got one final stretch left, and we’ll give it everything."
Haas
Esteban
OCON
“I would’ve been much further up [on Sunday] if I had not gotten a puncture in the early laps, and unfortunately, it came as the VSC finished and the race restarted. I was there at the end fighting for a point with a group of drivers, and it was looking good, but unfortunately I was missing a few laps. I felt the progress, we had good pace, but luck wasn’t on our side.”
Oliver
BEARMAN
“I’m very happy. I think honestly, we executed a perfect race, that was the best possible result we could’ve achieved, although we had some fortune with cars retiring. We had good pace, a good strategy, and we made some overtakes as well, which actually isn’t fun because it adds a little bit of risk. Mexico was a bit of a surprise, but to keep that momentum going with P6 [in Brazil] is a great feeling, and now we have a great opportunity heading into the final three races.”
Kick Sauber
Nico
HULKENBERG
“It was a decent race overall. The first lap wasn’t ideal - I lost a few positions and got stuck behind Alex [Albon] in the first stint, which made recovery tough. But we executed a strong one-stop strategy and managed to stretch the soft stint really well. That part was definitely a highlight. Of course, two points is something to take away, but in the bigger picture, we did lose a bit of ground in the Championship fight, which isn’t ideal. Still, it’s all to play for - it’s super tight between the teams, and every race matters now with just three to go. The team did a great job on strategy, car prep and pit stop.“
Gabriel
BORTOLETO
"It’s been a really tough weekend for me, even more so because it was my first home race and I was really hoping to have a good one in front of my family and fans. You always hope to do a good job, or at least have a solid race, and not being able to complete even a single lap was very hard to take in. I had a good start, gained a position right away, and was going for another move when I made contact with Lance [Stroll]. It was a first-lap racing incident, and these things can happen, that's racing. The support from our fans this weekend has been incredible. Even through the difficult moments, they kept cheering, shouting my name, and showing so much love. I can’t thank them enough - it means everything to me. Seeing how much it means to my country makes me proud, and I hope I can give them something to celebrate soon. Weekends like this are tough for everyone, but we’ll move on and come back stronger for the final three races of the season."
McLaren
Oscar
PIASTRI
"A tough afternoon. It was very eventful and just a shame that we didn't get more out of it. Ultimately disappointing, but we'll reset before the final triple header."
Lando
NORRIS
“It was an amazing race, and it's nice to win here in Brazil. It's an amazing track with amazing fans. This one was for one of my mentors, Gil, I hope he'd be very proud.
“It was a great win, but to be honest, seeing how quick the competition was today, it's clear we’ve still got work to do. I'll go back, see the team, congratulate them and see what we can do better. Looking ahead, I'll keep focusing on myself, keep my head down, ignore the noise and keep pushing.”
Mercedes
George
RUSSELL
"It’s been a tough weekend for me. I’ve been struggling with the car and to find the necessary pace to really challenge at the front. To take home P4 after a long race is a good result, both for me and for the team given our position in the Constructors’ Championship. I was having to manage my brake temperatures at the end and that made it more difficult to fight Verstappen for P3. Realistically though, I’m not sure we had the pace today to get on the podium.
"Our goal for the end of the season is clear: beat Red Bull and Ferrari to P2 come Abu Dhabi. This weekend has put us back in the driving seat in the battle and hopefully we can build on that in the year-ending triple-header. Kimi did a great job to get P2 too. He’s been super quick all weekend and that’s great to see. We will be working as a pair to score as many points as possible and hopefully come out on top by the time we reach the chequered flag at Yas Marina."
Kimi
ANTONELLI
"Overall, this weekend, we have done a great job as a team. We weren’t the quickest car here, so I think we’ve absolutely maximised each session and result with P2 in both qualifying sessions, the Sprint, and [Sunday's] race. There are still a lot of things I am learning and improving on, but this gives me good confidence going into the final three races of the season. Our battle is for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship, and I am glad we could add a good haul of points here in Brazil.
"It was also looking like we might not score any points at one point. I had a bad restart following the Safety Car, picking up lots of wheelspin. I had both Charles [Leclerc] and Oscar [Piastri] either side; I braked late and was leaving space for the Ferrari along with not closing the inside of the corner down too sharply for the McLaren. Unfortunately, three into one is always going to be difficult; Oscar locked up and next thing I knew contact was made and then I was pushed into Charles. It was a shame that it ended the Ferrari’s race but that’s racing sometimes."
Racing Bulls
Liam
LAWSON
"I'm super happy with [Sunday's] result. It was very tough towards the end as we opted for a one-stop strategy. The tyres were in good shape at that point, but it's super sensitive around here. If you push too much in one corner, you pay the price in the next one, therefore tyre management was key. On top of that, I was trying to manage energy to make sure I had power down the straights. The strategy worked well for us, so a big congratulations to the team - it's been a massive effort to have both cars in the points.”
Isack
HADJAR
“I think we showed some good moments despite having a tough race overall. We struggled during the first stint and at some points throughout the race, I got stuck in traffic and had to play with damage limitation. I started to have more fun from mid-race onwards, and during the last laps where I got closer to Liam. I pushed the car a bit too much and I made a mistake in trying to overtake him, but we brought home a P7 and P8, which is a nice double-points finish for the team. We’ll regroup together to analyse what we could have done better before starting the last triple-header of the year in Las Vegas in two weeks."
Red Bull Racing
Max
VERSTAPPEN
“From pit lane to podium, this weekend has completely turned around for me, something that I didn't think was possible. The start of the race was very hectic and I picked up a puncture early on from a load of debris on the track which meant that I pretty much had to start the race again. The team used the right strategy from start to finish which allowed me to get through all of the traffic ahead of me very efficiently. I definitely had to send it a few times to get past the other cars but I love doing that and ended up having a really fun race, which was totally unexpected. Overall it showed that we had really good pace [on Sunday] and that the grip was much better than the last couple of days. The atmosphere at Interlagos was amazing and it really spurred me on. I am so proud of the team and would like to thank them for all of the hard work that they put into making the changes post-Quali. We kept pushing and took multiple risks this weekend because we never want to settle for second and we didn't give up. To start in the pit lane and finish P3 on the podium only 10 seconds off P1 was incredible. Now all we can do is keep fighting hard over the final few races of the season and do the best that we possibly can whilst trying to find as much performance as we can extract from the car. A huge congratulations to Kimi [Antonelli] as well, he drove amazingly well which will have given his confidence a huge boost which is great for any rookie!"
Yuki
TSUNODA
"The whole weekend has been a difficult one for myself. We tried lots of things as a team, some which worked and others that didn't. I had a good start to the race on the hard tyre and made up a couple of positions before using the Safety Car to pit early. Unfortunately, there was contact with Lance [Stroll] and I had to serve a penalty which made it really tricky to have a positive result today, the extra pit stop also hurt us. I'm not throwing anything away, and in the last stint I showed good pace. I'll continue to do what I can to maximise from here until the end of the season. Credit to Max also, it was an incredible drive from him and he scored some great points for the team in the Constructors'."
Williams
Alexander
ALBON
"It was a good race for the fans but unfortunately for us it was a bit of a race to forget. We had good pace when we could show it. We've struggled with pace all weekend but seem to have recovered a little bit [on Sunday]. In the end what took us out of contention for points was that I think we stayed out too long on the first stint and we never really recovered from there. In the last stint we were quick and were fighting our way back up the grid and just missed out on a point at the end. It's frustrating that our rivals scored points today, but we will regroup and look forward to a better weekend in Las Vegas."
Carlos
SAINZ
"Not the day I was hoping for. Once I got squeezed on Turn 1, I had considerable damage to the car and my race was compromised from there. We managed to stay in the hunt for points most of the race but after a slow first stop and compiled with the damage, that was it unfortunately. Time to go back home and see what we can do in these types of circuits, as Qatar will also be a challenge. A few races to go, so we cannot relax. Let’s keep going."
