Verstappen takes Brazil GP win ahead of Norris and Alonso

Max Verstappen took his 17th win of the 2023 Formula 1 season with victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, having fended off Lando Norris's early challenge for the lead.

The world champion had been able to successfully convert pole position into a win, doubling up on his sprint race triumph from Saturday.

He managed to beat Norris once again, in what started as a close-fought contest. 

Norris, starting sixth on the grid, moved into contention thanks to two key events around the start.

Initially, Charles Leclerc suffered a hydraulic issue during the formation lap.

This unfortunate event caused him to hit the wall at Ferradura, effectively ending his race before it truly began

This incident opened up a grid space on the front row. Norris capitalized on this has he passed a slow-starting Fernando Alonso ahead.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton skillfully maneuvered around both Aston Martins on the outside, slotting in just behind Norris.

The race was red-flagged thanks to a crash between Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen at the first corner, and Norris crucially held off Hamilton at the restart to ensure he retained second place.

Norris began to put Verstappen under scrutiny over the next three tours and harried him on the eighth lap, when he attempted to prise open a gap on the outside of the first corner.

He followed that up with a look at Turn 4, but this was countered by Verstappen and the McLaren driver subsequently had to back off having taken a hefty chunk of life out of his tyres.

The gap between the leaders soon opened to over two seconds as Norris struggled to get back on level terms, with the arrears continuing to increase as Verstappen had the pace advantage.

Both drivers pitted on lap 27 with their delta now at 3.6s, but Norris lost a second through his spell in the pitlane to add to Verstappen's buffer.

Norris kept Verstappen in check over the middle stint of the race, initially maintaining the gap at around five seconds. He managed to keep the pace, ensuring that the lead didn't stretch too far.

However, after half the race distance, Verstappen began to pull away. The performance gap between the two cars became more pronounced, and by the time Verstappen made his second pit stop on lap 56, he had built an approximate eight-second lead over Norris.

After pitting three laps later, Norris was 14 seconds behind as Verstappen benefitted from the undercut, but the Briton hacked away at the lead and managed to whittle it down to just over eight seconds by the chequered flag.

Meanwhile, Alonso was embroiled in an intense duel with Perez's Red Bull for the final podium spot.

He successfully held off the Mexican for most of the race before losing out on Lap 70.

However, Alonso fought back to regain third with a last-lap move at Turn 4, beating Perez by just 0.053s.

Behind the lead battle, Carlos Sainz salvaged sixth for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton could only manage eighth as Mercedes continued to struggle.

Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon completed the points finishers.

The race cemented Verstappen's dominance in 2023, with Red Bull having sealed both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

Verstappen now has a record 17 wins in a single season, underlining his status as one of the all-time greats.

Sao Paolo Grand Prix Results: