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Tyres NorthamptonTurn 1 chaos that led to an early safety car suggested the race might be a barnstormer, but many of the 71 laps couldn't match the opening corner drama. Nonetheless, a resurgent Aston Martin ensured some worthwhile watching on the final two tours with breathtaking racing from the age-defying Fernando Alonso.
The action began before lights out as Charles Leclerc's Ferrari slammed into the barriers at the Turn 6 exit. A hydraulic failure for the front-row starting Ferrari caused the Monegasque to ask his engineer why he is so unlucky as another grand prix weekend slipped away from him. His failure meant Verstappen lined up alone on the front row and comfortably led into the first corner. No surprise there, but there was plenty to see behind the Red Bull.
Lando Norris launched past Lewis Hamilton and the two Aston Martins to jump from what had become a P5 starting slot and up into second place. Further frustration for Alonso and Lance Stroll came courtesy of Hamilton, who made it past both in the opening three corners to secure P3. Alonso looked like he might fight back, but a safety car appearance halted any hopes of recovery.
A multi-car incident had debris littering the track and two cars out of the race before the leaders reached the second sector. A three-wide run between Albon and the two Haas cars had Nico Hulkenberg inadvertently pushed into the Williams by the German's teammate Kevin Magnussen. As Hulkenberg tapped Albon, the Thai driver skidded heavily into Magnussen to end both drivers' Sunday running.
The wreckage wasn't limited to Williams and Haas, however. Magnussen clipped and broke Oscar Piastri's rear wing to send the McLaren crawling to the pits. There was further aerodynamic heartbreak for any watching Australians, too, as a tyre carcass collided with Daniel Ricciardo's rear wing to add another casualty to the list. Unsurprisingly, the red flag waved as the marshalls set to work removing the retired cars and repairing the barriers.
A small victory followed for Piastri and Ricciardo, however, as McLaren and AlphaTauri repaired both cars during the stoppage. The pair rejoined the race from the pit lane at the restart, albeit one lap down. Unfortunately for the duo from Down Under, there wouldn't be another safety car slow down, and the two had to endure the remaining laps a minute adrift of the remaining pack.
For Verstappen, however, it was another race of leading the chasing hopefuls with relative ease. Norris was quick on the restart and even looked like he might have the pace to attack the 2023 champion for half a lap. A stern defence from Verstappen to keep the McLaren at bay was enough to secure the win, though, and the Dutchman soon created an insurmountable gap to P2 that lasted until the chequered flag.
With two steps on the podium secure, the fight for third was where the action lay. Hamilton slotted in behind Norris at the restart but again had his old rival Alonso glued to his rear wing on the run to Turn 4. Alonso bravely swept past the Brit as the two champions went wheel-to-wheel, and the Spaniard took P3 on the inside of the left-hander. Alonso led Hamilton and the second Mercedes of George Russell, but the P9-starting Sergio Perez was the frontrunner with the most pace to watch.
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For all the pit stop strategies at play to eke out the most performance of Pirelli's soft and medium tyres, the RB19's raw speed let Perez fight past the Silver Arrows. Even the undercut couldn't save Mercedes, with Perez simply overtaking Hamilton again after the first stops, and he set off in pursuit of Alonso for P3 in a battle that lasted half the race distance.
For Hamilton and Russell, however, it was the start of an afternoon to forget as they fell down the order. Both lost out to Alpine's Pierre Gasly, and Russell slid behind AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda before eventually retiring due to an imminent power unit failure. Hamilton finished P8, showing quite the fall from grace for the team that secured a 1-2 finish at this same circuit last year.
Aside from the overtaking of the slow Mercedes, there was little other action in the field, but that all changed on the penultimate lap. Perez had stalked Alonso for dozens of laps, and he finally made his move on Lap 70 of 71. The Red Bull made it by into the first turn and held on in the DRS run to Turn 4 to look like he sealed third place.
Alonso, however, hung to the Mexican's tail for the remainder of the lap and turned the tables on the final tour. A grandstand finish with Alonso using a better exit at Turn 3 to reclaim P3 sent the Aston Martin garage into ecstasy as they finally returned to the podium for the first time since August's Dutch GP.
For Verstappen, though, it was a fifth consecutive win and his 17th this season as the sport concludes its tripleheader. There's now a one-week break before the much-hyped Las Vegas GP on November 18th as the season draws to its end.