Sergio Perez pulls ahead of Lewis Hamilton as Max Verstappen wins the Brazilian Grand Prix

On Sunday, three-time champion Max Verstappen won the Brazilian Grand Prix after taking the lead right away. In one of the last races of the season, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished in fourth place, pulling away from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to take second place.

Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, who finished in third place, was almost passed by Perez for the podium, but the Spaniard saw the checkered flag 0.053 seconds ahead of the Mexican.

In the closing three circuits of the race, the two battled for position, with the Red Bull driver passing Alonso once before relinquishing it. Lando Norris of McLaren finished second at Interlagos.

After being pursued by Perez, Alonso said, “For me, it was like 30 laps.”

With two races remaining, an Abu Dhabi race the following week and Las Vegas on November 19, Perez will depart South America 32 points ahead of Hamilton.

After a tough qualifying session for the Red Bull driver on Friday, Perez began the race at Interlagos in ninth place, while fan favorite Hamilton started in fifth. He added afterwards that he felt more confidence going into the grand prix after shown some progress during the Saturday short race.

Due to an engine problem, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was scheduled to start second, crashed during the formation lap before to the start.

Red Bull drivers were given extra time to seek upgrades after a red light after the second lap due to a collision involving Alex Albon of Williams and Kevin Magnussen of Haas.

Perez drove hard to take on Hamilton, and Verstappen secured his 17th victory, never losing the lead. To the dismay of Brazilian supporters of the seven-time champion, the Red Bull driver passed the Mercedes for fifth position on the eighteenth lap.

Sao Paulo will host Formula One races at least until 2030, the event’s organizers said on Friday.

After the race, Verstappen said, “The management of the tires was the whole race.” “I’m sure Las Vegas will be full of surprises and new for everyone.”