Postcards from... Interlagos

Anyone checking out the Interlagos podium without knowing the order in which the drivers finished might have assumed that Fernando Alonso was the winner, with Max Verstappen a mere third, and Lando Norris in between them. There was a stark contrast in enthusiasm between the Spaniard and the champion Dutchman, for whom winning is now almost a matter of routine. Nothing seems to stop the Verstappen rollercoaster these days; after winning both the sprint and the grand prix in Brazil, the only thing that got away from him was the extra point for fastest lap (which went to Norris). The score so far in 2023 is as follows: Max has won 17 out of 20 grands prix, and four out of six sprint races. So it's easy to see how finishing first is no longer a big deal for him.

In fact, Red Bull would have won this year's constructors' championship with just the points that Verstappen scored on his own. Even if Mercedes were to take a pair of one-twos in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, scoring both fastest lap points as well, their year-end total of 382 points still wouldn't surpass the 524 that the three-time world champion has so far scored single-handed. That's what you call bossing it.

Norris at least staged a semblance of resistance to the three-time world champion's domination, with the McLaren driver hanging on during the early laps in Brazil and curtailing Verstappen's winning margin to less than 10 seconds. All seven other finishers who completed a full race distance were half a minute or more down the road, on a track that's just over four kilometres long. Norris also claimed second place in the Interlagos sprint race after going fastest in Saturday morning's shootout: once again underlining the rise of McLaren, which has now established itself as best of the rest in the closing stages of the championship.

Had the season started in Austria – where the British team introduced its first important technical upgrades – Norris would currently lie second in the drivers' championship, having taken 183 of his total 195 driver points since then. There would still have been no illusions about challenging Verstappen (who scored 329 points from those same 12 races) but at least it's something for Lando to smile about…

Fernando Alonso's roar of joy on the Interlagos podium was the best response to the rumours in Mexico that he was somehow bored of Aston Martin, or even contemplating retirement. Fernando's race on Sunday was nothing but impressive. With a car that suddenly seemed to regain at least part of its early-season lustre – Lance Stroll started third on the grid in front of his teammate and then finished the race in fifth – the Spaniard put in a fighting performance, managing the car perfectly and engaging in a breath-taking duel with Sergio Perez throughout the closing stages. The fact that he could take the fight to Red Bull at all, timing his opportunities perfectly, was a masterclass in attack and defence. Then, once Perez was past him, it seemed that the show was over with a worthy fourth place. But nobody told Fernando. Using every centimetre of track he went on the offensive once more, resisting Perez's attempts to come back at him throughout the long climb to the finish at Interlagos. The 0.053 seconds that separated them at the chequered flag allowed the Spaniard to vent his joy worldwide, reiterating once again that when it comes to pure grit and determination, Fernando is second to none.

Just one year ago, Mercedes came home from Brazil with a solid one-two and the knowledge that they had put the worst of a difficult 2022 behind them. George Russell's debut win, backed up by a strong second for Lewis Hamilton, raised expectations for 2023 – leading Toto Wolff to hope that the first year under the new F1 rules had simply been a mere blip in his team's long-term form, with business resumed as normal the following season. It wasn't to be, and Brazil last weekend typified the downward spiral that this ultra-successful squad has ultimately been caught in.

The disappointment and surprise was tangible, as shown by Wolff's stark comments after the race. “It's disconcerting. From a very quick car with the best balance and happy drivers, to a nightmare. How is this possible? What isn't working? I wouldn't be surprised if in the coming days we find out there's been a mechanical problem in the way we prepared the cars or something like that. But I have no idea what it can be.”

Formula 1's ‘sprint race season' came to an end in Brazil. Had the final standings been restricted to just the six sprint events – Baku, Spielberg, Spa, Losail, Austin, and Interlagos – not much would have changed in the overall scheme of things, as Max Verstappen won four out of those six sprints and was always on the podium in the others.

Nonetheless, the reigning champion has always been one of the most ardent critics of this format – as he reiterated with perhaps excessive sarcasm during Thursday's FIA press conference. Some drivers agree with him and others (such as Charles Leclerc) don't so much, but a perfunctory survey around the paddock would probably yield more complaints than compliments.

The broadcasters, however, tell a different story. After all, they have to somehow engage audiences between an hour of free practice on Friday afternoon, where viewers don't even know how much fuel is on board (although the teams are still able to work it out) and qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Yes, there's free practice – again – on Saturday too, but a shootout feels somehow more exciting and relevant than another meaningless test session.

The sprint format means of course that engineers are forced to find the right set-up in just one hour of free practice on Friday but that simply adds to the challenge for teams and drivers. Which ultimately is why they are there.

This author has been a paddock regular for more than 20 years and has always encountered a certain conservatism, to put it mildly, among drivers and engineers in particular. For them, the sport may be all about finding that ideal ride height adjustment or perfect level of downforce,

but there is now also another audience – such as the one brought to Formula 1 by ‘Drive to Survive' – which is attracted by elements that might be more superficial but are undoubtedly more spectacular and easier to understand. So perhaps it's time to listen to them as well before retreating, because all sport – from Formula 1 to football – is increasingly about entertainment. The purists who don't understand this will just get left behind.