The Brazilian Grand Prix was a tactical chess match between Formula 1’s top teams. McLaren and Mercedes mirrored each other’s strategies, while Red Bull opted for something different in the final stages as Max Verstappen attempted to surprise Kimi Antonelli. The plan, however, did not work — largely thanks to Kimi’s impeccable driving. Ferrari, meanwhile, had planned to extend Lewis Hamilton’s first stint, but doing so on soft tyres probably wasn’t the right choice. We will never know how it might have played out after the incident at the start.
Ferrari too hasty with Hamilton throws away the race
Choosing the best starting tyre was far from obvious. McLaren went with yellow-banded medium Pirellis for both drivers, reducing the risk of rear graining — a problem they feared the most. Mercedes split its strategy: soft tyres for Kimi Antonelli and mediums for George Russell. Starting from the dirty side of the grid, the team wanted to give Antonelli more grip at launch.
The goal was to get a strong start and snatch position from Lando Norris. The red compound had performed very well in the Sprint race, so it made sense to try again. Ferrari also split its approach — Charles Leclerc started on softs, while Lewis Hamilton chose mediums. The Briton’s plan was to run a longer first stint through traffic.
Hamilton’s aim was to gain places early on, but using the red-banded softs in traffic would have caused them to overheat quickly, making it nearly impossible to manage surface temperatures. It was a strategy that, in hindsight, wasn’t particularly forward-thinking. His race, however, ended almost immediately after contact at the start caused floor damage and forced him to retire.
Tyre strategy: Verstappen’s gamble in the final stint
Max Verstappen started on hard tyres to maintain consistency and extend his first stint as long as possible — the right tyre for that approach, unlike Ferrari’s attempt to do the same with softs. After just seven laps, a Virtual Safety Car allowed him to switch to mediums due to a front-right puncture. After Charles Leclerc’s retirement, Antonelli’s race became a bit more straightforward.
The McLarens were faster in the early phase but still struggled with rear degradation as expected. Norris reported that his rear tyres were wearing out, though not disastrously. The pit wall told him they were on “plan B,” while also evaluating “plan D.” At the same time, Oscar Piastri was told they were following “plan C,” meaning the two McLaren drivers were on different strategies regardless.
With Lando, the team was still unsure whether to go for one or two pit stops. On lap 22, Kimi Antonelli pitted for mediums, committing to a two-stop strategy, which on paper looked the fastest. However, lower-than-expected degradation eventually favored the one-stop runners. Norris stopped on lap 31, switching to softs and also locking himself into a two-stop plan.
The strategy was similar in structure but different in detail: Norris had softs while Antonelli ran mediums. For the final stint, the team asked Kimi which compound he preferred, and the Italian replied that the yellow-banded medium was the best choice. For Piastri, McLaren aimed for a one-stop race given his pending penalty. He completed 38 laps on mediums and would have finished on softs.
Kimi executes a flawless final stint to hold off Verstappen
Max Verstappen could have gone to the end after mounting his second set of mediums. From the pit wall, he was told his battle was mainly with Russell and Piastri, with a potential podium in play. However, Red Bull’s strategists also considered fitting softs late in the race if they noticed a significant drop in pace. On lap 55, they made the call — the soft-tyre gamble, which the team itself described as “aggressive.”
At that point, Kimi Antonelli was informed that the situation had changed and he needed to give everything to defend second place. The team asked him for a perfect final stint, aware that Max Verstappen, with his superior pace, would soon be right behind him. But Kimi delivered an outstanding performance, holding his position brilliantly and never giving the Dutchman a real opportunity to attack, confirming once again the remarkable maturity and skill of the young Italian driver.
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