Max Verstappen defended the lead from Lewis Hamilton for most of the race, but ultimately the Red Bull was no match for Hamilton's new AMG power plant and Hamilton won the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Verstappen settled for P2, with pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas completing the podium.
Valtteri Bottas fended off Max Verstappen during the sprint qualifying on Saturday and started from pole position. Hamilton finished the sprint in P5 from the back of the grid for a DRS-related infringement and started P10 on Sunday for a 5-place engine penalty. Bottas and Verstappen got away well at the start, but Verstappen took the lead in the second corner, followed closely by Perez who also surged past Bottas for a Red Bull 1-2. Further down the field Norris had a rocket start and as he passed Carlos Sainz Jr. his left rear tire clipped the Ferrari and he lost the tire. Hamilton meanwhile worked his way into P6 by the end of the first lap.
Yuki Tsunoda dove on the inside of Lance Stroll into Turn 1 but the gap wasn't there, and the two made contact. Tsunoda lost big chunks of barge board as well as his front wing and had to pit. The race was yellow-flagged to clean up the debris from Tsunoda's Alpha Tauri on Lap 6.
Max Verstappen lead the restart
The race restarted on Lap 10, Verstappen and Perez holding the top places from Hamilton and Bottas. Mick Schumacher lost his front wing to contact with Kimi Raikkonen down in P16 which incited a virtual safety car. Racing resumed on Lap 15 with Hamilton behind Perez in P3. Hamilton passed Perez under DRS into Turn 1, but Perez retaliated and got the place back right away. Hamilton made the pass again on the next lap and was able to keep it.
Hamilton pitted on Lap 26 and came out in P6. Verstappen pitted on Lap 28 and rejoined ahead of Hamilton, both on hard tires. Bottas inherited the lead when Perez pitted for new tires on Lap 29. The race restarted on Lap 32, which saw Hamilton within DRS range of Verstappen. However, the Red Bull was quicker in the middle sector, which was just enough to keep Hamilton at bay.
Verstappen took a second pit stop on Lap 40 for another set of hard tires, allowing Hamilton the lead. Hamilton pitted on Lap 43 for medium tires, but the team opted for the hard tire instead because of the medium's wear rate. Perez passed Leclerc for P4 on the main straight on Lap 45. Hamilton was on Verstappen's gearbox by Lap 47, and under the second DRS zone almost passed the Red Bull, until Verstappen pushed the battle outside track limits and kept the place. Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo meanwhile retired from the race. Verstappen did not receive a penalty from the stewards for running Hamilton off the track.
Hamilton finally got past Verstappen on Lap 59 in the second DRS zone with masterclass racecraft, forcing Verstappen out of sorts on the inside of the corner. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly had a tussle into Turn 1 with Gasly emerging victorious and holding onto P8. Hamilton held the lead and won the race with Verstappen and Bottas completing the podium. Perez meanwhile snagged fastest lap in P4.