The battle for second in the World Drivers’ Championship is getting tighter, as Sergio Perez now only has a 20-point lead over Lewis Hamilton for the second spot. The São Paulo Grand Prix now becomes a pivotal race for both Hamilton and Perez, making every point count to secure their spots in the Drivers’ standings.
After dealing with a hand injury, Daniel Ricciardo showed glimpses of the Ricciardo of old and gave AlphaTauri their best finish to this Formula 1 season. Expect a rejuvenated Dani Ric in Mexico as he continues to claim his bid for a Red Bull seat and to take AlphaTauri higher in the Constructors’ standings.
The first domino falls for Ricciardo
It’s been a long time coming, but Daniel Ricciardo is back in the mix as he scored his first points since Abu Dhabi in 2022. Dani Ric’s comeback came at the most opportune time, as Sergio Perez has been dropping the ball for Red Bull and may face ramifications very soon.
After mending his broken hand, Ricciardo came out of the Mexican Grand Prix with the best finish of AlphaTauri this season, in seventh place. This performance boosts AlphaTauri from the bottom of the Constructors’ standings and places them at the eighth spot above Alfa Romeo and Haas, but the honey badger is eyeing a bigger fish.
When asked if he and the rest of AlphaTauri can make a push to overtake Williams off the seventh spot in the Constructors’, the Aussie answered: “It’s hard to know. Brazil is a very different track but it’s similar. It’s still at altitude, you still run pretty much high downforce, so maybe it could help us. Let’s see. Vegas? Who knows? A lot of long straights, so we’ve got to be a little more slippery than what we normally are, but I think for Brazil next week we could be OK.”
“If this weekend continues, absolutely.” he proclaimed.
The 34-year-old Australian is competing for a seat beside his former teammate Max Verstappen, and if he plays his cards right, we could see the honey badger back in a Red Bull car momentarily.
“He (Ricciardo) firmly wants to be pitching for that 2025 Red Bull seat. That’s his goal and objective. By going to AlphaTauri I think he sees that as his best route for stating his case for 2025,” Horner told Formula One’s F1 Nation podcast.
Sergio Perez spoils his own home race
Perez was primed for points during the Mexico City Grand Prix when he finished with the fifth-best time in qualifying. Checo had a good jump at the start of the race, going wheel to wheel with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Sergio Perez were side by side going into turn one of the race, but only one could come out as the race leader.
With the turn being three cars wide, all three drivers opted to brake late to get an advantage, but Checo, who opted to go wide coming into the turn, attempted to claim the racing line while Leclerc was still beside him. Checo’s Red Bull car smashed into the Ferrari and was sent flying in the air, causing unrecoverable damages that forced the hometown hero to retire.
So it turns out, Perez didn’t maximize home advantage, and instead, gave the seven-time World Drivers’ Championship Lewis Hamilton a greater chance to overtake him in the second spot in the Drivers’ standings.
Unlike Perez, Lewis Hamilton drove a phenomenal race, as he finished in second place behind World Champion Max Verstappen. Hamilton started at sixth to begin the race but clawed his way up to the race leaders, proving he is still the in the conversation of the best driver in Formula One.
“Honestly, I just wasn’t expecting that. It’s just always a great feeling when you are just putting one foot in front of the other and progressing,” Hamilton said in an interview.
Now, all eyes are on the São Paulo Grand Prix, where Hamilton will continue to put pressure on Sergio Perez for the battle for second place. Given that these drivers finished the last race weekend on opposite sides of the spectrum, it is highly probable that Lewis can overtake Checo in Brazil.
Perez and Hamilton’s battle for second is the São Paulo 2023 results every fan should be keeping an eye on.
History
The Silver Arrows dominate the Brazilian Grand Prix, as they have won this race six times since 2014, with back-to-back first-place finishes from Lewis Hamilton (2021) and George Russell (2022).
Only Merc’s Nico Rosberg has won the São Paulo Grand Prix in two consecutive years in the last decade, but with the Silver Arrows’ late resurgence this season, George Russell has a legitimate chance to share his Rosberg’s accolade and keep Mercedes’ rich history on this track alive.
That might be a tall order for Russell, though, as Max Verstappen, who is the São Paulo Grand Prix 2023 odds favourite, is poised for yet another dominating race weekend. The Dutchman is poised to win his 17th race of the season, and frankly, at the moment, no one stands as a worthy adversary.
What are the odds?
Given that the Formula 1 carnival only made a short trip to Brazil from Mexico, expect that the drivers, mechanics, and engineers have had more rest compared to the busier parts of the season. Sharper, snappier, and more focused drivers in Brazil could mean fewer DNFs and DQs this weekend.
Unsurprisingly, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is the favourite stand on the highest level of the podium on Sunday.
In the qualifying session, the Dutchman sits as the heavy favourite to win the Sprint qualifying at 1.45, while any other driver is priced at 2.58. We may seem to sound like a broken record here at SBOTOP when we declare Verstappen as the frontrunner to win, but the stats don’t lie; he’s just that good.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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