Verstappen wins the 17th, Alonso is back on the podium at Brazil
Max Verstappen wins his 17th Grand Prix of the 2023 Formula 1 season, while Fernando Alonso takes P3 after a photo finally with Sergio Perez.
The Brazilian Grand Prix gave us the most intense battle we’ve seen during the entire season. A track that never fails to disappoint began strong with its contract extension until 2030.
The excitement began right from the formation lap. Charles Leclerc had a hydraulic failure that sent him into the barriers. After everything was resolved the race finally started but just before turn 1, Alex Albon crashed into Nico Hulkenberg. As Albon lost the car, he took Kevin Magnussen with him, this ended the race for both of them.
With three cars out already, the race resumed after a standing start. This time around no accidents occurred and the race was on. Lando Norris attempted to overtake Max Verstappen and even got wheel-to-wheel at one point. However, this wasn’t enough and Verstappen flew away just after that.
Checo was quickly gaining positions while both Mercedes drivers struggled to find pace. After quickly climbing all the way to fourth, the Mexican driver had more than 20 laps to overtake Fernando Alonso. Nonetheless, overtaking a fast Alonso wasn’t going to be an easy task.
Perez managed to get DRS and started to close in on Fernando. Laps passed and still nothing changed. Both drivers wouldn’t give a centimeter, fighting for that podium finish. On lap 70, Sergio overtook the Spaniard but couldn’t get away. At the start of lap 71, Alonso took back the position from Checo. Excitement and adrenaline were all everyone felt during this moment. Things came down to the last corner, as both drivers entered almost being one car. At the finishing straight both drivers went wheel-to-wheel and gave us a photo finish. Fernando finished in front by 0.053 seconds.
Is this one of the best endings to a race in F1 history?
