F1 in Brazil: You’ve got to keep your tires alive

Skip to content F1 in Brazil: You’ve got to keep your tires alive A topsy-turvy grid and intermittent rain resulted in a very entertaining race. The rain didn't cause chaos in Brazil, but it did shake things up a bit. Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images The rain didn't cause chaos in Brazil, but it did shake things up a bit. Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images In sports, a “dead rubber” is a match that takes place after the outcome of the series or championship has already been decided. The people in charge hate this*—if you wrap up a title two-thirds of the way through a season, the viewers evaporate, as there’s nothing left at stake. But anyone who decided to skip this year’s Brazilian Grand Prix this past weekend missed one of the year’s most entertaining races, as a combination of a mixed-up starting order, some very fast drivers at the back, and a wet track that dried and then saw rain again resulted in action aplenty. A peculiarity of F1 is that even if you manage to win a championship, there’s no guarantee you’ll be in a position to defend it. Take McLaren’s Lando Norris, who took the crown in 2025 after a nail-biting fight with his teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Sadly for Lando, McLaren did not start this year in a position to win races, and even with several upgrades, the team has produced a car that is still very tricky to drive. But this weekend in Brazil, Norris demonstrated the form that earned him the number 1. Rain on Saturday during qualifying helped jumble the usual running order. It was heavy enough that drivers used the wet weather tire with deep treads, which usually generates so much spray that visibility disappears and running has to be suspended. But with fewer cars on track in the later knockout qualifying sessions, this was not a problem for once. More disruption came from grid penalties for Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, both of whom needed to use extra power unit components outside of the season’s allowance. Everyone’s mixed up A happy Lando Norris with his broken champagne bottle. Credit: Hector Vivas – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images A happy Lando Norris with his broken champagne bottle. Credit: Hector Vivas – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Norris claimed pole, with this year’s new champion, Kimi Antonelli, alongside in his Mercedes. Row two was filled with the unusual sight of Liam Lawson’s Racing Bull and Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi, followed by Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman’s Haas. Next was George Russell in the other Mercedes, then the even more unusual sight of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, normally found much farther back. One could say the same about William’s Alex Albon, who qualified ninth ahead of the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri. It looked like it was going wrong for Norris right from the start of the race. Antonelli made a better start and passed him into turn 1. Lawson followed through into second place at the next corner. But Norris kept his head down, and by lap six, he was past the Racing Bull, with about five seconds to make up on Antonelli. Well-timed pit stops saw Norris switch to the right tires at the right time, and he made none of his rivals’ mistakes, even when the rain returned in the final few laps—at least until the podium ceremony, when he tried to fizz his champagne bottle but instead shattered it. Keeping one’s tires in the right operating window was vitally important in Brazil, but more than a few struggled with it. The Mercedes duo appeared to struggle to generate sufficient tire temperatures, and their cars looked difficult to handle, prompting plenty of complaints from both Russell and Antonelli to the garage. Russell had been progressing well and ran in the top three early in the race but spun after leaving the pit lane for his first stop, ending up facing the wrong way. Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull is facing the right way. Which means that George Russell’s Mercedes is most certainly not. Credit: Getty Images Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull is facing the right way. Which means that George Russell’s Mercedes is most certainly not. Credit: Getty Images A few laps later, Antonelli spun his own car from the lead, this time going into turn 1, letting Norris back into first. Antonelli then did it again four laps later, ending fourth. Eventually, the Mercedes finished with Russell in fourth and Antonelli in fifth. But the team sealed its Constructors’ Championship, so there was still plenty of celebrating despite the relatively mediocre results (by Mercedes’ high standards). Worth a watch It’s worth watching the in-car footage from the first couple of laps from both Hamilton and Verstappen, who lined up 20th and 21st out of 22 cars. By the end of lap 1, Hamilton was already in ninth and making things look easy—then again, Brazil was his 400th F1 race start, and he has won more than a quarter of them. But within four laps, his charge had been blunted. Getting his rear tires up to temperature was key to making up so much ground, but with the track drying, the intermediate tires everyone started the race on had a finite life. With his used up, Hamilton started sliding back down the order. On two occasions, he ended up racing his teammate Charles Leclerc, who started mid-pack with his own penalty. Unlike in Mexico, Italy, or Holland, the two red cars were able to play nice with each other. But neither managed their tires well, and the best they could do on the road was seventh (Leclerc) and ninth (Hamilton), which became eighth for Leclerc after he was given a five-second penalty for rejoining the track unsafely after running off track while battling Lawson. Starting two multiple world champions at the back created a lot of overtakes. Credit: Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Starting two multiple world champions at the back created a lot of overtakes. Credit: Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Verstappen’s first lap wasn’t quite as good as Hamilton’s—the Red Bull was also never entirely within its setup window all weekend. But taking longer to turn on the rear tires probably contributed to their longevity. While Hamilton’s charge through the pack was blunted, Verstappen was in ninth place by lap 4. By lap 24, he was in second, having taken advantage of Antonelli’s second spin. Verstappen would eventually finish the day in second, 14 seconds off Norris. F1 takes a weekend off next week, then returns for the night race in Las Vegas. *Perhaps the prime example of this is NASCAR, which switched to a fairly incomprehensible playoff series it has continued to tweak for years in an effort to prevent anyone from winning the big cup until the last race of the year. Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC. 5 Comments