The crucial lap that swung F1's Brazilian GP from Norris to Verstappen

The early demise of Charles Leclerc and a rocket first start from Lando Norris put the McLaren driver in a position to challenge Max Verstappen for the lead in Interlagos. But this proved fleeting as the Red Bull driver had enough in hand to romp away to his 17th win of the year

Updated Nov 6, 2023, 9:29 AM

“If I was going to have one opportunity, it was going to be there and then.” Lando Norris hadn’t exactly raced out of the blocks on the Brazilian Grand Prix’s second standing start, but had gathered momentum after waving away a sniff of an attack from Lewis Hamilton as he gave chase to inevitable race leader Max Verstappen. It produced a showdown that was as fleeting as it was intense.

During the infant laps of the 71-tour race at the famed Interlagos circuit, a venue that has hosted more than its fair share of iconic F1 moments, Norris intended to fight Verstappen. The Red Bull driver was not given the opportunity to perform his usual trick of running off into the distance, at least, not until much later, as Norris stuck to the RB19’s tail through the opening laps and then began to pile on the pressure.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake studied engineering at university, as his original ambition was to design racing cars. He was bad at that, and thus decided to write about them instead with an equally limited skillset. The above article is a demonstration of that. In his spare time, Jake enjoys people, places, and things.