Sao Paulo Stroll and Sargeant's major F1 boost – what Brazil GP headlines missed
Max Verstappen won the Brazilian Grand Prix, but Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso stole the show with their mad dash to the finish line.
Both wanted desperately to stand on the podium alongside Verstappen and runner-up Lando Norris. But only Alonso earned the right to do so after a thrilling late battle which ended in a photo finish – the Spaniard just doing enough to hold off his Red Bull rival.
So the race ended almost as dramatically as it had started. Charles Leclerc didn't even make it to the grid after crashing on the formation lap, while a first-corner crash damaged no fewer than five cars, causing the race to be stopped.
And it was a Grand Prix to forget for Mercedes who endured a miserable afternoon. Lewis Hamilton was eighth and George Russell didn't even finish, while team principal Toto Wolff struggled to hide his rage as he labelled it an "inexcusable performance".
Those were the biggest stories that came out of Sao Paulo on Sunday. But there was plenty else going on which, amid all that, you might not have noticed...
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A Stroll in the park for Aston Martin
Aston Martin recently brought upgrades which, as it turned out, made their cars rubbish. So they stripped them back to basics and, hey! They were competitive again. Alonso stole the show with his podium, but we mustn't forget Lance Stroll.
He's had a wretched time lately and a difficult season overall. So the Canadian very much deserved the strong result that he picked up when he converted third on the grid into a fifth-placed finish on Sunday.
It won't stop people questioning his place with the team and in the sport – the fact his billionaire dad owns the team probably means he will never escape that scrutiny. But he will certainly silence many of his critics if he can continue to produce results like this.
AlphaTauri fly again
AlphaTauri aren't rubbish any more (Getty Images)Those AT04s have been rubbish all year, and now suddenly they're... not? Tsunoda was brilliant in Brazil, getting the better of Hamilton in the Sprint race to score points and adding more a day later when he finished one place behind the seven-time world champion in ninth.
The Japanese racer earned a lot of criticism for throwing away points in Mexico last weekend and he took it hard personally too. So it was great to see him respond in the best way with two excellent drives to bring home the bacon this time around.
Daniel Ricciardo said he had the pace for points too but started a lap down after his involvement in the first-lap melee and that was his race over. It was a shame for the Aussie, but he will hope to return to the top 10 in Vegas.
Sargeant's major boost
Sargeant performed well in Sao Paulo (Getty Images)The only man yet to have his place on the 2024 grid set in stone, Sargeant is quite literally racing for his F1 career. And he did his chances no harm at all with a clean weekend in Sao Paulo, at the end of which he came very close to adding a second point to his career tally.
The Floridian will probably be slightly disappointed to miss out on the top 10 having come so close. But points alone aren't going to keep him in his seat – Williams just want to see consistent improvement from their rookie.
And that's what Sargeant showed at Interlagos with a mature performance. A couple more showings like that in Vegas and Abu Dhabi and he'll be well placed for a second season in the sport.
Awful for the Aussies
Daniel Ricciardo felt his race was unfairly ruined in Brazil (F1 TV)Speaking of rookies, Piastri's career trajectory has been going in the opposite direction to Sargeant's this year thanks to some stellar performances for McLaren. But his first race weekend in Sao Paulo will not live long in the memory.
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He finished 10th in the Sprint to miss out on points and never have a chance to do anything in the Grand Prix. Like Ricciardo, he picked up damage on the first lap and, even though it was fixed in time for him to continue the race at the restart, both Aussies were a lap down and completely out of the fight.
Piastri finished dead last and was the only man lapped twice by Verstappen. Ricciardo felt it was unjust that both Aussie were hampered by the rules in this case, pointing out the "flaw" in the regulations that ruined both their days.
Machine Gone Kelly
Machine Gun Kelly didn't react well to Martin Brundle's refusal to play air piano (Sky Sports)Oh Martin, you sure do come across some interesting people. Sky Sports favourite Brundle regularly causes a stir on social media with his pre-race grid walks and Sunday was no exception, thanks to a toe-curling exchange with rapper Machine Gun Kelly.
Poor Martin tried his best to get some answers out of the musician but all he wanted to do was play air guitar, for some reason. When Brundle didn't want to join in, he put his thumb down to the camera and walked off without saying a word.
It later emerged that Kelly didn't even bother to stay to watch the race and left the circuit part-way through. It's impossible to say whether it was because of his run-in with Brundle, but we'd like to think everyone's favourite presenting legend played a part.
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