THE BIG PICTURE: As Toto Wolff put it and as we said last week, "There are three or four teams that will be competing for a Championship next year, and it could go either way."

EVENT: A five year contract extension to keep this race on the calendar through 2035. As it should be.

TRACK: Interlagos delivered the action, again.

QUALIFYING: For all those people who bitch and moan that F1 does not allow these cars to run in the rain, you can all shut up now. That was a spectacular, entertaining hour. Many drivers prove once again that rain is the great equalizer. But in the end, the two most recent world champions start on the front row.

RACE: Arguably the best race of the season. Most surprisingly in the ever changing conditions, not a single safety car, of any variety, was needed.

START: Antonelli gets a perfect start to blast by Norris, Lawson does a perfect outbraking maneuver to get by Norris at the first turn, Hamilton gains 11 positions in the first few corners, and Verstappen gets by eight cars.

NORRIS: Everyone talked about the comeback drives, and overlooked a brilliant race by Lando.

PIASTRI: Even in wet conditions, Oscar can't keep up with his teammate.

MCLAREN: They seem to like cold conditions. And upcoming Las Vegas will most definitely be cold.

VERSTAPPEN: We are so used to Max's comeback drives, we may not be appreciating this one as much. It was one of his best. From 21st to second.

HADJAR: Again, Isack is doing what others could not -- finishing just behind Verstappen.

RUSSELL: How George did not hit a wall or block the super narrow pit exit lane is a miracle onto itself. With all that, he somehow finished ahead of Antonelli.

ANTONELLI: Yes, Kimi is human.

MERCEDES: They have "their" constructors' title back. Their ninth, tying them with Williams for third place, one behind McLaren. Ferrari leads with 16.

LAWSON: His best weekend yet, and of course, once again, best of the rest. We think Liam has this ride sewed up for next year.

FERRARI: The drivers behaved themselves this time.

HAMILTON: It originally appeared Lewis was going to have the comeback drive of the race. But then his tires petered out.

LECLERC: Charles had trouble getting dialed in to the rainy conditions all weekend, until the very end, when he pulled a classic NASCAR nudge and pass move.

ALONSO: Fernando showed why he is still a world class driver. Now, he just needs a car in the dry, not just the wet, which matches that talent.

ALPINES: Off the pace all weekend.

WILLIAMS: Their qualifying efforts in the wet did not completely translate to race results in the wet.

CAMARA: Heck of a way to make your debut, Rafael -- in your home country with extremely difficult conditions.

STROLL: Mr. DNF again.

BOTTAS: Cursed once again with the frozen wheel nut problem. Why is Valtteri so "special"?

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Difficult.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 400 -- The number of F1 starts Lewis Hamilton has, second most. But, he'll never catch the man at top as long as Fernando Alonso (445) stays in the game. Two other active drivers are in the top 10 -- Sergio Perez (301) and Nico Hulkenberg (269).

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: The 1980 world champion, Alan Jones, passed away on November 5 at the age of 80. Jones began his F1 career in 1975 for the Custom Made Harry Stiller Racing in a rented Hesketh 308B. He drove for three different teams that season. The 1980 title, amidst the FISA-FOCA war, was won in a Williams FW07B with a Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8, winning five races and three poles, scoring 67 points to Nelson Piquet's 54. All told, he won 12 races, six poles, and was on 24 podiums. He wrapped up his F1 career with a comeback attempt driving for the original Team Haas (Indy car tycoon's Carl Haas' team) for 1985 and 1986. The team and Jones' results were horrid with only five finishes with a best of a fourth and sixth. His style of driving was equated to Nigel Mansell's.

TWEET OF THE WEEKEND: From @Nachez98:

Alonso, frustrated with the Honda engine in FP2

"I don't have the power to get the tires working, the brakes..."

"I don't have the power, I'd rather head into the pits"

"Yes, Fernando, it's difficult"

"No, it's very easy for everyone else"

#F1 #BrazilGP

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: While in the cooldown room and seeing the nudge Leclerc put on Lawson highlight, Max Verstappen said, "Rubbing is racing."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: During FP3 after being told by his race engineer that his one-liners were better the day before, Max Verstappen responded, "The day is still young."

SCHEDULE: Lights. Glitz. Glamor. And lost wagers.

Copyright © 2026 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.