F1 drivers get-together as Ayrton Senna tributes are made in Brazil

Reigning three-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen put one hand on a fourth crown in Brazil on Sunday, with the Dutchman describing his run to the São Paulo Grand Prix win at a sodden Interlagos from 17th on the grid as "absolutely crazy". 

The Dutchman was the undisputed star of São Paulo's "super Sunday," with qualifying and the race run early on the same day given Saturday's washout. And he heads into 2024's final three races, a triple header, with an almost unassailable 62-point advantage (and 86 left to score) on his ever-fading title rival, McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished sixth in Brazil and looked far from World Champion material.

"Of course I was very, very frustrated with qualifying," said Verstappen, given his Q2 exit following race control's delay in throwing a red flag for Aston Martin's Lance Stroll late session crash at turn three, which meant there wasn't enough time left to restart.

"But yeah, we just tried to just use it as a good motivation in the race and luckily we had a great start. From there onwards, we were just having a really good feeling in the car. We made all the right calls again. Stayed calm and executed when we needed to. So incredibly happy. I mean, [it's] honestly crazy. I never expected to go from being 17 to P1. I was hoping for good points, but this is it is absolutely crazy."

Sunday was a step out of the ordinary for all concerned, and not just for the fans, who were already lined up at the track's gates at 5.30am with qualifying scheduled to start just two hours later. The surprises, though, continued all the way to the chequered flag - with both Alpines on the podium for the first time in the brand's history and Enstone's first double podium since Korea 2013.

"The alarm rang this morning at 4:30am and we had no idea that today was going to be such a day," said Esteban Ocon, who finished second ahead of his teammate Pierre Gasly, who celebrated his 150th F1 start.

"The qualifying was incredible. But today we were leading the race like we haven't been further up than P10 this year or P9. It's been incredible to be able to fight. It feels so good spending so much time in the midfield struggling. You kind of think when is my time going to come? Today really shows that if we all have the same car, we would be able to fight at the front."

Everyone in the paddock was thrilled to be back in Brazil, and not just as the race marked the final leg of a triple header - with many team dinners organised at one of the city's many churrascarias (steakhouses), the most well-known of which is 'Fogo de Chão'.

The drivers also got together, to play padel (with Alex Albon, Oscar Piastri, and Ocon taking part), and to celebrate the memory of the late, great three-time F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna, with 2024 marking 30 years since he passed.

Four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel flew in to be a part of the commemoration, and brought a giant Senna helmet - made from recycled materials, with pictures of the Brazilian legend on the interior.

"The idea of thinking about Interlagos and continuing to tell the story around Ayrton, and taking inspiration from a person who had the courage to speak up and was very compassionate, was to try and come up with something that lasts," said Vettel, who also collected garbage from around Interlagos, as part of a Forever Senna initiative called the "Waste Picker challenge".

“I immediately thought of a sculpture or an installation, so we got together with Brazilian artist Mundano and German artist Matthias Garff, and we decided to go for the helmet, because the helmet is such a strong pull when it comes to recognising a driver – it’s sort of the most personal item you have as a driver."

Mercedes' seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton was one of a number of drivers to check out the gigantic, decorated helmet, which had been placed at the famous Senna S curve. But, the Brit had his own chance to pay homage to his idol - with laps in the Brazilian's 1990 World Championship-winning McLaren MP4/5B. The sold-out crowd (with a weekend attendance of 291,717 people) went wild for it, with Senna's memory still held very dear in Brazil.

There were no shortage of old school F1 stars in the paddock, including former supremo Bernie Ecclestone, three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet, two-time World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi (celebrating 50 years since his last Brazilian Grand Prix win en-route to McLaren's first title double, his second drivers' title), Felipe Massa (who was seen on social media smiling with the sport's president & CEO Stefano Domenicali at a local event), and Jos Verstappen (attending his first F1 race since the Dutch Grand Prix in August).

The Dutch veteran wasn't shy in chatting with the press, first taking aim at FIA driver steward Johnny Herbert for criticising his son, Max's, on-track tactics in Austin and Mexico City. And then suggested RB stand-in Liam Lawson was doing very well, and ready for a step up to Red Bull's top team.

"I certainly don't oppose that," said Jos Verstappen, when asked if Lawson should replace current Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez. "It's better if there is someone who is competitive and pushes Max forward a bit. That always helps, but we'll see."