Wow Max Verstappen triumphs at Brazilian GP on torrid day for Mercedes
Verstappen completed an emphatic victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix after Daniel Ricciardo escaped injury when his car was struck by a flying tyre.
Lando Norris finished second for McLaren, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso holding off Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez by just 0.053 seconds for third.
But it was an abysmal afternoon for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton eighth and George Russell forced to retire his car with an engine failure 12 laps from the end. Hamilton crossed the line an eye-watering 63 seconds behind.
The race in Sao Paulo was suspended following a chaotic start that saw a loose tyre hit Ricciardo’s rear wing following a collision between Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg.
Albon, 13th on the grid, drew alongside Hulkenberg ahead of the first corner but the two machines made contact, sending the London-born driver into Hulkenberg’s Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen and then into the barrier.
The force of the impact tore the left-rear tyre off Albon’s Williams, with the bouncing tyre – which weighs 13kg – narrowly flying over the top of Ricciardo’s head before smashing into the back of his AlphaTauri.
Footage from Ricciardo’s cockpit shows him turning sharply to the left to avoid the flying rubber. “I tried to miss it but the tyre was in the air and it clipped my rear wing,” he said.
The Australian driver, 34, was able to limp back to the pits for repairs following the fortunate escape, while both Albon and Magnussen emerged unscathed.
