Lazy Thoughts on the São Paulo Grand Prix

Note: Lazy Thoughts analyses for both Brazilian races will be late this week. Due to some circumstances beyond my control, I was incredibly busy on Saturday and had to miss most of the action. For now, just pretend I delivered these on schedule. Apologies!

So, um… remember how I said I thought things were going to go wrong for Max in Brazil last time?

Yeah. About that.

I was partially right, in my defense. Max Verstappen’s weekend in São Paulo did not have a strong start. The Dutchman finished P4 in the sprint after qualifying P6, and the race proper began to look like a nightmare in the making. He got struck off in the first round of qualifying, his first Q1 knockout in years. His statements to the press after the fact didn’t inspire confidence, lamenting that he ‘can forget about F1 2025 title’ after having ‘no grip out [on the track]’.

For a second, I took him at his word. But I forgot the defining rule of Verstappen: when all the odds seem stacked against him, he finds a way to make the chaos bend to him. It’s like a switch flips in his mind that pushes him to perform at his absolute limit, no matter what it takes. The car can be unbalanced, the setup off, the pit crew disorganized— and he’ll somehow claw back positions through sheer intuition.

I should’ve seen the writing on the wall when Max’s team replaced several of his car’s power unit elements, forcing him to start all the way back in the pit lane. That’s not a move Red Bull Racing would likely make unless they were absolutely sure it would pay off.

And pay off it did. Max carved his way through everyone else like a man on a mission. Every move was perfectly calculated to bring out the most in what is arguably his team’s worst car in years. By lap 17, he was in a points-scoring position. By lap 22, he was tantalizingly close to the podium. By lap 51, he managed to make it to P1, where he stayed for four laps before having to pit. And by the wave of the checkered flag, he was comfortably in P3.

Even though he didn’t secure that P1 finish, Max has once again done the impossible. He took a car that looked destined to fail and turned it into a podium contender. He pulled an incredible performance (and a well-deserved Driver of the Day) out of thin air and made it look methodical. There’s a particular kind of brilliance in Max’s bad weekends, one that’s less about domination and more about defiance. This was that in its purest form. He might not have been the fastest, but he was certainly the best.

Second again is Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. The Italian rookie has officially entered his ‘not a fluke’ era, managing a near-perfect drive Sunday while keeping Max on his tail. He didn’t luck into that result; he earned every lap of it. Not only did he secure a front-row start in qualifying, but he also defended his position like a seasoned veteran once the lights went out.

Despite not hanging on to the position the entire race, he never looked out of his depth. When Verstappen loomed in his mirrors, Antonelli didn’t flinch. You could see the awareness in his driving, the confidence in how he managed his tires and braking zones. For someone barely old enough to rent a car, he’s driving with the strategic patience of a champion in training.

And first, once again, is the new WDC leader, Lando Norris. Like Saturday’s sprint, I don’t have much to say about the Brit’s driving. It was fast, efficient, and completely devoid of tension. The only times he wasn’t in the lead were the times he had to make pit stops. And by the end, he had a ten-second lead that no one had any chance of passing.

I’m not saying this to dog on Lando or anything, it’s just that dominance without resistance rarely makes for compelling television. There are only so many ways to say “Lando has managed a podium again. His driving was fast. He increased his championship margin” without sounding like a broken record.

Still, credit where it’s due: Lando has mastered the art of making his racing look effortless. Every start, every stop, every tire stint was clean and clinical. But storytelling-wise, he’s running into the same paradox Max once did: when you’re too good, the only thing left that can make you interesting to some is failure.

The São Paulo weekend delivered on chaos, but not in the way I expected. It wasn’t crashes or controversy that made it fascinating. Instead, it was contrast. The quiet dominance of McLaren, the stubborn comeback of Max, and Kimi Antonelli refusing to blink. Each team revealed exactly who they are under pressure.

But isn’t the chaos the reason we watch?

And now, as always, my other random thoughts and observations that didn’t make it into the main piece:

That’s all for now, my loves. I’ll see you in Vegas.

-F