Verstappen wins in Sao Paulo from Norris

McLaren's Lando Norris threatened to overtake Max Verstappen in the early stages of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix before the Dutchman pulled away for another comfortable victory

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took a controlled victory in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix to extend his all-time record for wins in a season to 17.

Fernando Alonso took the final podium position after a stunning drive in the Aston Martin, re-passing Sergio Perez's Red Bull on the last lap after losing the place a lap before.

Mercedes had their worst race of 2023, Lewis Hamilton finishing eighth and George Russell retiring when running 11th.

It was an unwelcome surprise for the former champions after the team felt they had been making progress in recent races with an upgraded floor.

Verstappen's win was copybook after a brief challenge from Norris in the opening laps.

But the star of the race was arguably Alonso, with a masterful defensive drive against Perez and then some remarkable race-craft to reclaim the position after losing it on the penultimate lap.

Perez was within a second of Alonso, and therefore with use of the DRS overtaking aid, with 16 laps to go.

But a masterful performance from Alonso kept a faster car behind him by clever driving, gauging his pace just right at the key points of the track to ensure Perez was never quite able to get by.

As the race went into its final three laps, it appeared as if Alonso was going to hold on, only for Perez to pass him into Turn One on the penultimate lap.

Alonso challenged back into Turn Four, but was unable to make the move stick, and it appeared as if third place was gone.

But he closed back in on Perez, sold him a dummy into Turn One at the start of the final lap, which allowed him to compromise the Red Bull's run through the Senna S.

That gave Alonso a better run on to the back straight and he reclaimed third place around the outside into Turn Four, and fended Perez off through the final corner and on the run to the line.

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