Max Verstappen returned to sprint winning ways at the final such shorter event of 2023, following up his Austin sprint vicory, after his surprise defeat to Oscar Piastri in the Qatar weekend’s first race. In Brazil, Verstappen quickly overcame the other McLaren of Lando Norris to earn his fourth sprint win of the year.
That pair again fought it out for victory early at Interlagos, with Norris mounting a rare attack on a Verstappen lead during the early stages. But the Dutchman soon returned to his usual dominant position and roared to a 17th 2023 win and a fourth sprint weekend double.
Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc endured yet more Ferrari reliability misery and Fernando Alonso produced another defensive masterclass, this time allied to a great attacking display too, to defy Sergio Perez late on. Mercedes, meanwhile, had little good to reflect on post-both races at the track where it stunned Red Bull to win in 2022.
The weekend also included plenty of major news lines during the off-track moments – including surprise revelations about F1’s future tyres and the results of the recent US GP, plus a calendar contract extension for the Brazilian race. All that and more is included here in the pick of what we learned from F1's latest visit to Sao Paulo.