F1 Update: Nov. 10

The Formula 1 paddock has completed its annual trip to Brazil.

The São Paolo Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen take yet another victory, his 17th of the season and fifth in a row.

McLaren’s Lando Norris finished second behind Verstappen, securing his fifth podium in his past six starts. Fernando Alonso ended up third, marking his first podium since August.

The rest of the point-scoring drivers were from multiple teams.

Sergio Pérez finished fourth, one week after crashing out of the Mexico City Grand Prix on the opening lap. Despite this week’s strong result, the second Red Bull driver still has not stood on the podium since Italy in September.

Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top seven, with the Mercedes car of Lewis Hamilton settling for an eighth-place finish.

With only two races remaining in the season, Mercedes will need to find a way to rebound to avoid a winless season.

Rounding out the points finishers were Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon, with Tsunoda recording his second top-10 finish of the last three races.

Moving forward, the next round at Las Vegas will be the penultimate race of the year, set for Nov. 19.

The track for the event is a street circuit with 17 turns and will host the third race in the United States this season.

As usual, whether anyone can keep up with Verstappen remains to be seen. Still, the track presents an opportunity for Pérez to record a strong result, as his two wins this season came on street circuits.

Throughout the rest of the grid, there is plenty for drivers to still fight for.

Pérez is still second in the driver standings, 32 points ahead of Hamilton. If Pérez underwhelms in the final two races, Hamilton could close the gap.

Sitting fourth, fifth and sixth in the standings are Alonso, Norris and Sainz. The gap between them is six points, making the final two rounds matter.

The race is also significant towards the constructor standings, where there is a battle for second and fourth.

With Mercedes’ misfortune in Brazil, the team now is only 20 points ahead of Ferrari. If Ferrari can muster the strength it showed in Singapore, Las Vegas could be a chance to make the key advancement.

McLaren and Aston Martin are fourth and fifth in the standings, respectively, with 21 points separating them, setting up a competitive battle of their own.

The race in Brazil was indicative of the podium-scoring pace both teams are capable of.

Although Verstappen and Red Bull are difficult to stop, there’s competition to still be had in 2023 among both drivers and teams, before the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Logan Groeneveld-Meijer is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. To contact him, email lsg5237@psu.edu.