| Type: | F1 |
| Grand Prix: | São Paulo |
| Previous Round: | 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix |
| Next Round: | 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix |
| Details Ref: | [1] |
| Date: | 5 November |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Official Name: | Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023 |
| Race No: | 20 |
| Season No: | 22 |
| Location: | Autódromo José Carlos Pace São Paulo, Brazil |
| Course: | Permanent racing facility |
| Course Km: | 4.309 |
| Course Mi: | 2.677 |
| Distance Laps: | 71 |
| Distance Km: | 305.879 |
| Distance Mi: | 190.064 |
| Attendance: | 267,000[2] |
| Weather: | Partly cloudy |
| Pole Driver: | Max Verstappen |
| Pole Country: | NED |
| Pole Team: | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT |
| Pole Time: | 1:10.727 |
| Fast Driver: | Lando Norris |
| Fast Country: | GBR |
| Fast Team: | McLaren-Mercedes |
| Fast Time: | 1:12.486 |
| Fast Lap: | 61 |
| First Driver: | Max Verstappen |
| First Country: | NED |
| First Team: | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT |
| Second Driver: | Lando Norris |
| Second Country: | GBR |
| Second Team: | McLaren-Mercedes |
| Third Driver: | Fernando Alonso |
| Third Country: | ESP |
| Third Team: | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes |
The 2023 São Paulo Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023) was a Formula One motor race held on 5 November 2023 at the Interlagos Circuit in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the twentieth round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship and the sixth and final Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise the Formula One sprint format.
Max Verstappen took pole position for the main race during a weather-affected qualifying, while Lando Norris took the sprint pole position. Both the sprint and main race were won by Verstappen, setting a new Formula One record for highest percentage of wins in a single season. It was Red Bull Racing's 19th win of the season, matching Mercedes's 2016 season win record. Norris finished the race in second place, his 13th career podium, tying Nick Heidfeld for most podiums without a race win. Fernando Alonso finished third, after overtaking Sergio Pérez on the final lap and beat him by 0.053 seconds. This was his ninth podium at Interlagos without ever winning and his first since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.
The event was held across the weekend of 3–5 November and was the twentieth round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship. It was the 41st Formula One Grand Prix at this circuit, and the third held under the name of the São Paulo Grand Prix, having previously been titled the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was also the sixth and final Grand Prix weekend of the 2023 season to utilise the Formula One sprint format.[1] [3]
Coming into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 491 points. He led his teammate Sergio Pérez by 251 points and Lewis Hamilton by a further 20 points. Hamilton was ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. in fourth by 37 points, with Fernando Alonso in fifth, tied for points with Sainz. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship with 731 points, 360 points ahead of Mercedes and a further 22 points ahead of Ferrari. McLaren, in fourth, was behind Ferrari by 93 points and ahead of Aston Martin, in fifth, by 20 points.[4]
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with the exception of Daniel Ricciardo, who replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri starting at the Hungarian Grand Prix.[5] [6]
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3 and C4 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.[7]
The only free practice session was held on 3 November 2023, at 11:30 local time (UTC−3).[1] Carlos Sainz Jr. ended the session first, while his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc finished second, with George Russell third.[8] [9]
Qualifying was held on 3 November 2023, and was scheduled for 15:00 local time (UTC−3),[10] but was delayed by 15 minutes due to debris on track from a Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil session which took place immediately prior to qualifying.[10] [11] [12] [13] The session determined the starting order for the main race.
Max Verstappen took pole position after intense rain and thunderstorms caused Q3 to be red-flagged and called off with four minutes remaining. After numerous tribulations throughout the past few races, Lance Stroll found himself in third ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso, who also improved after numerous struggles in the latter half of the season. This is Stroll's highest starting position since the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix where he took pole position.[14] Oscar Piastri was unable to set a time, as his car slipped off into the grass as the weather began to deteriorate. This caused a yellow flag which forced Sergio Pérez to slow, resulting in them starting tenth and ninth respectively.[15]
Penalties were given to George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly for blocking the pit exit in Q1, each driver dropping two places. The intense rain caused a grandstand to collapse. No major injuries were reported.[16]
| Driver | Constructor | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | data-sort-value="ver" | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:10.436 | 1:10.162 | 1:10.727 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 16 | data-sort-value="lec" | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:10.472 | 1:10.303 | 1:11.021 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 18 | data-sort-value="str" |  Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 1:10.551 | 1:10.375 | 1:11.344 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 14 | data-sort-value="alo" | Fernando Alonso | 1:10.557 | 1:10.237 | 1:11.387 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 44 | data-sort-value="ham" |  Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:10.604 | 1:10.266 | 1:11.469 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 63 | data-sort-value="rus" | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:10.340 | 1:10.316 | 1:11.590 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 4 | data-sort-value="nor" | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:10.623 | 1:10.021 | 1:11.987 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 55 | data-sort-value="sai" |  Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:10.624 | 1:10.254 | 1:11.989 | 7 | ||
| 9 | 11 | data-sort-value="per" |  Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:10.668 | 1:10.219 | 1:12.321 | 9 | ||
| 10 | 81 | data-sort-value="pia" |  Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:10.519 | 1:10.330 | No time | 10 | ||
| 11 | 27 | data-sort-value="hul" | Haas-Ferrari | 1:10.475 | 1:10.547 | data-sort-value="20" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 11 | ||
| 12 | 31 | data-sort-value="oco" |  Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1:10.763 | 1:10.562 | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 14 | |
| 13 | 10 | data-sort-value="gas" | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1:10.793 | 1:10.567 | data-sort-value="12" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 15 | |
| 14 | 20 | data-sort-value="mag" | Haas-Ferrari | 1:10.602 | 1:10.723 | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 12 | ||
| 15 | 23 | data-sort-value="alb" |  Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1:10.621 | 1:10.840 | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 13 | |
| 16 | 22 | data-sort-value="tsu" | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:10.837 | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 3 | data-sort-value="ric" | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:10.843 | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 77 | data-sort-value="bot" | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:10.955 | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 2 | data-sort-value="sar" |  Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 1:11.035 | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 24 | data-sort-value="zho" | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:11.275 | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 20 |
| 107% time 1:15.263 | ||||||||||
| Source:[17] [18] | ||||||||||
The sprint shootout was held on 4 November 2023, at 11:00 local time (UTC−3), and determined the starting grid for the sprint.[1]
Lando Norris topped the timing sheets for the second and third segments, granting him a sprint pole position. In SQ1, Esteban Ocon seemingly lost control of his Alpine and drove into Fernando Alonso, sending Ocon's Alpine A523 straight into the wall and breaking Alonso's front left suspension. Alonso was unable to return for the rest of the shootout despite Aston Martin's efforts to fix his car in time for SQ2.[22]
| Driver | Constructor | Sprint grid | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ1 | SQ2 | SQ3 | ||||||||
| 1 | 4 | data-sort-value="nor" | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:11.824 | 1:11.221 | 1:10.622 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | data-sort-value="ver" | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:11.888 | 1:11.262 | 1:10.683 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 11 | data-sort-value="per" | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:12.218 | 1:11.230 | 1:10.756 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 63 | data-sort-value="rus" | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:11.976 | 1:11.516 | 1:10.857 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 44 | data-sort-value="ham" | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:11.870 | 1:11.476 | 1:10.940 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 22 | data-sort-value="tsu" | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:12.358 | 1:11.676 | 1:11.019 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 16 | data-sort-value="lec" | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:12.107 | 1:11.473 | 1:11.077 | 7 | ||
| 8 | 3 | data-sort-value="ric" | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:12.175 | 1:11.423 | 1:11.122 | 8 | ||
| 9 | 55 | data-sort-value="sai" | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:11.796 | 1:11.491 | 1:11.126 | 9 | ||
| 10 | 81 | data-sort-value="pia" | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:12.356 | 1:11.648 | 1:11.189 | 10 | ||
| 11 | 20 | data-sort-value="mag" | Haas-Ferrari | 1:12.058 | 1:11.727 | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 11 | ||
| 12 | 27 | data-sort-value="hul" | Haas-Ferrari | 1:12.136 | 1:11.752 | data-sort-value="20" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 12 | ||
| 13 | 10 | data-sort-value="gas" | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1:12.229 | 1:11.822 | data-sort-value="12" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 13 | |
| 14 | 77 | data-sort-value="bot" | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:12.303 | 1:11.872 | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 14 | |
| 15 | 14 | data-sort-value="alo" | Fernando Alonso | 1:12.224 | No time | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 15 | ||
| 16 | 31 | data-sort-value="oco" | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1:12.388 | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | data-sort-value="str" | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 1:12.482 | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 24 | data-sort-value="zho" | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:12.497 | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 23 | data-sort-value="alb" | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1:12.525 | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 2 | data-sort-value="sar" | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 1:12.615 | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 20 |
| 107% time 1:16.821 | ||||||||||
| Source:[23] [24] | ||||||||||
The sprint was held on 4 November 2023, at 15:30 local time (UTC−3), and was run for 24 laps.[1] [10]
After overtaking sprint polesitter Lando Norris for the lead in the opening turn, Max Verstappen won the sprint. Sergio Pérez finished in third, his first podium of any kind since the Italian Grand Prix.[25]
| Driver | Constructor | Time/Retired | Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | data-sort-value="ver" | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 24 | 30:07.209 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | 4 | data-sort-value="nor" | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 24 | +4.287 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | 11 | data-sort-value="per" | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 24 | +13.617 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 63 | data-sort-value="rus" | George Russell | Mercedes | 24 | +25.879 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 16 | data-sort-value="lec" | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 24 | +28.560 | 7 | 4 |
| 6 | 22 | data-sort-value="tsu" | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 24 | +29.210 | 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 44 | data-sort-value="ham" | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 24 | +34.726 | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | 55 | data-sort-value="sai" | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 24 | +35.106 | 9 | 1 |
| 9 | 3 | data-sort-value="aus" | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 24 | +35.303 | 8 | |
| 10 | 81 | data-sort-value="pia" | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 24 | +38.219 | 10 | |
| 11 | 14 | data-sort-value="alo" | Fernando Alonso | 24 | +39.061 | 15 | ||
| 12 | 18 | data-sort-value="str" | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 24 | +39.478 | 17 | |
| 13 | 10 | data-sort-value="gas" | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 24 | +40.421 | 13 | |
| 14 | 31 | data-sort-value="oco" | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 24 | +42.848 | 16 | |
| 15 | 23 | data-sort-value="alb" | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 24 | +43.394 | 19 | |
| 16 | 20 | data-sort-value="mag" | Haas-Ferrari | 24 | +56.507 | 11 | ||
| 17 | 24 | data-sort-value="zho" | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 24 | +58.723 | 18 | |
| 18 | 27 | data-sort-value="hul" | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 24 | +1:00.330 | 12 | |
| 19 | 77 | data-sort-value="bot" | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 24 | +1:00.749 | 14 | |
| 20 | 2 | data-sort-value="sar" | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 24 | +1:00.945 | 20 | |
| Fastest lap George Russell (Mercedes) – 1:14.422 (lap 2) | ||||||||
| Source:[26] | ||||||||
The race was held on 5 November 2023, at 14:00 local time (UTC−3), and was run for 71 laps.[1]
Charles Leclerc crashed out of the race during the formation lap due to a hydraulics problem.[27] Lando Norris moved up to second behind Max Verstappen at the start, while Kevin Magnussen hit Alexander Albon before the first turn, taking both drivers out of the race. The amount of debris caused a safety car period; soon, the race was red-flagged. Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo both suffered damage to their cars due to hitting the debris from the crash, but had their cars fixed in time to restart from the pit lane, albeit one lap down.
Off of the standing restart, Verstappen kept his first place ahead of Norris and, after a few more laps, pulled further ahead. Sergio Pérez overtook Lewis Hamilton, who was struggling with his tyres. Both Alfa Romeo drivers retired due to car problems: Zhou Guanyu on lap 24 and Valtteri Bottas on lap 39. On lap 57, George Russell retired due to overheating. With their cars continuing to struggle from the first-lap damage, Ricciardo and Piastri finished one and two laps down, respectively.
Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso dueled for third for many laps, with Alonso overtaking Pérez for the final time on the last lap and defending against the Red Bull Racing driver to take his first podium since the Dutch Grand Prix, ahead of Pérez by 0.053 seconds. This was his ninth podium at Interlagos without ever winning and his first since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.[28] [29]
Verstappen won the race by eight seconds, ahead of Norris. In doing so, Verstappen claimed the highest percentage of race wins per season record from Alberto Ascari, a record held since the 1952 season; he also achieved his nineteenth podium of the season, breaking his own record from 2021. Verstappen also overtook Alain Prost in total race wins by reaching his 52nd win.[30]
| Driver | Constructor | Time/Retired | Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | data-sort-value="ver" | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 71 | 1:56:48.894 | 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | data-sort-value="nor" | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 71 | +8.277 | 6 | 19 |
| 3 | 14 | data-sort-value="alo" | Fernando Alonso | 71 | +34.155 | 4 | 15 | |
| 4 | 11 | data-sort-value="per" | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 71 | +34.208 | 9 | 12 |
| 5 | 18 | data-sort-value="str" | Lance Stroll | 71 | +40.845 | 3 | 10 | |
| 6 | 55 | data-sort-value="sai" | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 71 | +50.188 | 7 | 8 |
| 7 | 10 | data-sort-value="gas" | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 71 | +56.093 | 15 | 6 |
| 8 | 44 | data-sort-value="ham" | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 71 | +1:02.859 | 5 | 4 |
| 9 | 22 | data-sort-value="tsu" | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 71 | +1:09.880 | 16 | 2 |
| 10 | 31 | data-sort-value="oco" | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 70 | +1 lap | 14 | 1 |
| 11 | 2 | data-sort-value="sar" | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 70 | +1 lap | 19 | |
| 12 | 27 | data-sort-value="hul" | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 70 | +1 lap | 11 | |
| 13 | 3 | data-sort-value="ric" | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 70 | +1 lap | 17 | |
| 14 | 81 | data-sort-value="pia" | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 69 | +2 laps | 10 | |
| Ret | 63 | data-sort-value="rus" | George Russell | Mercedes | 57 | 8 | ||
| Ret | 77 | data-sort-value="bot" | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 39 | Hydraulics | 18 | |
| Ret | 24 | data-sort-value="zho" | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 22 | Engine | 20 | |
| Ret | 20 | data-sort-value="mag" | Haas-Ferrari | 0 | Collision | 12 | ||
| Ret | 23 | data-sort-value="alb" | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 0 | Collision | 13 | |
| DNS | 16 | data-sort-value="lec" | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 0 | Hydraulics | – | |
| Fastest lap Lando Norris (McLaren-Mercedes) – 1:12.486 (lap 61) | ||||||||
| Source:[31] [32] [33] | ||||||||
| Driver | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen* | 524 | ||
| 2 | Sergio Pérez | 258 | ||
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | 226 | ||
| 1 | 4 | Fernando Alonso | 198 | |
| 1 | 5 | Lando Norris | 195 | |
| Source:[35] | ||||
| Constructor | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT* | 782 | ||
| 2 | Mercedes | 382 | ||
| 3 |  Ferrari | 362 | ||
| 4 | McLaren-Mercedes | 282 | ||
| 5 | 261 | |||
| Source: | ||||