Formula 1: Max Verstappen clinches Red Bull's 19th victory of the season in Sao Paulo Grand Prix masterclass

Max Verstappen cruised to a dominant victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, making it a record 19th win of the season for Red Bull.

An eventful race was red-flagged on the opening lap following a collision involving Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen. When proceedings got back underway, Verstappen held on to the lead from pole and checked out in front.

"The starts were very important today - both of them were very good," he said in parc ferme. "After that the whole race was about the management of the tyres. I think we were good on any tyre, but especially that middle stint we could create a bit of a gap. We were very strong there.

"It all looked quite good, but with the high deg around here, you're constantly correcting the car, so your focus needs to be there. But luckily, it worked out great today."

Asked about the upcoming Grand Prix in Las Vegas, he commented: "[It will be] very different to this one, a lot colder. Let's see what the track grip will do; street circuit; new for everyone - it will be full of surprises for sure."

The race got off to a more than eventful start, indeed already before technically starting when Charles Leclerc's Ferrari suffered a hydraulics failure on the formation lap and sent him into the barrier.

With the Ferrari in a safe position, the lights went out to get the race underway, but the red flag swiftly followed. Collisions between Albon and the two Haas-Ferraris resulted in Albon and Magnussen crashing in spectacular fashion, spreading debris all across Turn 1 and destroying the tyre barriers.

Verstappen had held the lead from the front and returned to pole position for the standing restart. He was now joined on the front row by Lando Norris following an excellent launch from P7. Likewise, Lewis Hamilton had improved his starting position to third.

Once more, Verstappen managed to hold his position at lights out, but he found himself under attack from Norris. The McLaren pounced out of the slipstream, but Verstappen had the inside line and remained in the lead.

From there, a gap opened between the duo and Norris was unable to launch another overtake attempt. Still, Norris was best of the rest and running in a lonely second throughout the race. Eventually, he bagged his seventh podium of the season as well as the fastest lap.

"[I feel] very good, it couldn't have gone much better, to be honest," Norris said. "We had good pace, similar to yesterday, which is the main thing and a much better start in the beginning to get to second which was a nice surprise. My start yesterday was not so good, so I tried to work on it and it got better. But the second start, I was just a little bit aggressive on it.

"I'm still happy. P2 is as good as we can get nowadays and for the time being, but very happy for the rest of it. There's little bits where the tyres come back to you a little bit and you can push on. But Max always seemed to have an answer to everything - which is a shame, but fair play to him."

In contrast, it could hardly have been closer for third. Fernando Alonso had moved into P3 at the restart and stayed in that position for the majority of the race. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez was on a comeback mission through the field and first came to challenge Alonso around Lap 35.

On that occasion, Perez couldn't quite break into DRS range as Alonso did a fabulous job of managing his pace. With the Aston Martin holding firm, the gap opened back up.

It was a sense of deja vu with 20 laps ago. Again, Perez closed in on Alonso and this time got within punching distance. Likewise though, Alonso defended successfully from the charging and objectively faster Red Bull.

It wasn't until the penultimate lap that Perez managed to make a move stick only for Alonso to fight back and reclaim the position on the final lap.

Perez did not give up and challenged out of the slipstream onto the home straight but Alonso held on by less than half a tenth. Had the finish line been even just a metre further back, the result would have looked different.

"For me [the last two laps] were like 30 laps with the pressure from Checo [Perez]," Alonso confessed. "When he passed me at the end, I thought okay, this is gone, the podium is not possible anymore. But he braked a little late into Turn 1, and I said, okay, I'm going to go for it into 4.

"This is a phenomenal result for the team. We've been struggling for a couple of months, especially the last two events with two retirements, but we keep fighting until the last lap. We're still learning about the car - these cars are so complex aerodynamically! We've been experimenting a little bit to find the direction for next year without forgetting this year and that we're still competing."

Perez had to settle for fourth ahead of Lance Stroll who had a quiet but confident race to fifth, making it a great day for Aston Martin. Carlos Sainz had been racing Stroll throughout but eventually missed out in sixth, with Pierre Gasly following in seventh.

Elsewhere, Mercedes had a nightmare day, ending in George Russell retiring with overheating issues and Hamilton nursing his car home in eighth.

"Wily old fox" comes to mind. Alonso had an outstanding race that saw him return to the podium after back-to-back DNFs.

Having a Red Bull charging in DRS range is a position you don't want to be in for even one lap; Alonso managed it for 20 in the crucial stages and, frankly, outfoxed Perez. Repeatedly taking a wide line through Turn 12, Alonso compromised the corner itself but gained an advantage at the exit, allowing him to get on full throttle earlier.

This masterclass in defensive driving meant that Perez never got close enough to overtake out of the slipstream onto the straight - until the penultimate lap, that is. However, when Perez was aggressive into Turn 1 after making the overtake stick, Alonso smelled blood and lined up the move that would seal him the podium spot.

Overall, the performance was peak Alonso.

0/71: LECLERC CRASHES ON FORMATION LAP - Leclerc finds himself in the barrier before the race even started. 'I lost the hydraulics,' he says on the radio. The Ferrari gets going again and Leclerc heads to the pits.

1/71: VERSTAPPEN HOLDS LEAD, NORRIS TO SECOND, CARNAGE FURTHER BACK - Eventful start as Verstappen holds the lead from the front while Norris gets an amazing launch into second with Hamilton up to third. The safety car is out already as Albon's and Magnussen's crashed cars are being recovered.

2/71: RED FLAG - Indeed, there is that much debris that the red flag is being waved and the drivers will head to the pits at the end of this lap.

4/71: POSITIONS HOLD AT RESTART, ALONSO ON THE MOVE - No changes to the top three initially as Verstappen holds the lead from Norris and Hamilton. However, Alonso has a brilliant launch and challenges Hamilton, indeed taking third off him.

8/71: NORRIS ATTACKS - Norris is not enjoying the chaser role and attacks out of the slipstream. Verstappen has the inside line though and holds on to the lead.

9/71: FRONT GAP OPENS - Either Verstappen stepped it up to respond to Norris' attack, or the McLaren was forced in recharge and tyre preservation mode following his overtake attempt: a gap is opening and it's opening quickly.

14/71: PEREZ CLAIMS RUSSELL - First real attack in the chasing group as Perez makes a move on Russell. The Mercedes fights back for his life, but Perez prevails and takes fifth.

23/71: PEREZ BACK PAST HAMILTON - Indeed, Perez has the pace. He attacks Hamilton and although the Mercedes initially regains the position on the cut-back, Perez prevails in the end.

37/71: SAINZ PAST HAMILTON - Sainz is making it look easy as, having just claimed Russell, he dispatches of another Mercedes in Hamilton. He instantly pulls a gap, underlining Mercedes' nightmare day.

63/71: ALONSO HOLDS FIRM - This is a masterclass in defensive driving from Alonso who is holding Perez behind him. Out front, Norris just set a slightly staggering new fastest lap. Still, there's 10 seconds between him and Verstappen.

70/71: PEREZ MAKES THE MOVE - Patience pays off for Perez who finally makes a move stick on Alonso and claims third. Alonso tries to fight back, but Perez defends for now.

71/71: ALONSO BACK IN THIRD - Alonso remains in contention and pounces when the chance arrives, claiming third back from Perez.

71/71: VERSTAPPEN WINS FROM NORRIS AND ALONSO - Verstappen brings home another dominant win ahead of Norris in a lonely second place. It couldn't have been closer for third though: Perez keeps attacking and tries to claim the position out of the slipstream. However, Alonso hangs on by the tiniest margin - had the finish line been even just a metre further back, the result would be different.

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