Talks between drivers and stewards were held prior to Mexico City, during which “19 of the 20” drivers agreed that the guidelines needed updating in the wake of Verstappen’s aggressive defence in COTA, which saw Norris forced off track by Verstappen — who also went wide — as he overtook. The McLaren driver was then penalised.

Changes are due to be introduced in Qatar, but drivers were quick to praise the stewards’ application of the current guidelines in Mexico City, as Verstappen was given 20 seconds worth of penalties for again forcing Norris off track.

“I think the stewards are totally on board with what needs to change,” said George Russell, who serves as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association. “I’m glad to see those incidents were punished [in Mexico City] and I suspect moving forward in Brazil what we saw today [Sunday] and what we saw last week [in Austin] you won’t be able to get away with.

“Sometimes seems more difficult than it has to be when things have to get approved. But, 19 out of 20, we’re all aligned on where it needs to be.”

Sao Paulo’s new look 

Track resurfacing has been a common theme at recent race weekends and it continues in Brazil, with the entire 2.67-mile Interlagos circuit being renewed for 2024.

According to Pirelli, the work “was only recently completed and the asphalt was then thoroughly cleaned, using a high pressure water washing system that removes the sheen that usually appears on brand new bitumen.” This treatment was also applied to Jeddah and COTA after their renewal.

Although this makes the circuit much grippier, which drivers love, it does increase the abrasiveness of the surface. Pirelli is bringing its softest trio of compounds to Brazil than last year — the hardest C1 and C2 rubber is not available. Instead, the C3 will be the Hard, with C4 as Medium and C5 as soft. It may mean that teams consider a three-stop strategy instead of the more conventional two-stop.

“The new track surface could see a lowering of lap times,” adds Pirelli. “As a consequence, [there could be an] increase of the stress to which the tyres are subjected.”

Teams will have only one practice session to figure out the best set-up, before being thrown into sprint qualifying on Friday afternoon. Rain could cause further headaches.

Is this Sergio Perez’s final F1 race? 

There’s an increasing suspicion that the 2024 Sao Paulo will be Sergio Perez’s last race in Formula 1, following a disastrous race in Mexico City where he qualified 18th, clashed with Liam Lawson in a squabble over 10th, and later finished a distant 17th.

His failure to score points for the second time in the last four races ultimately cost Red Bull another place in the constructors’ standings, as the Milton Keynes outfit was passed by Ferrari for second place. Team boss Christian Horner and pointedly avoided giving Perez his full backing — even for the rest of the season.

“Checo again has had a horrible weekend, and nothing’s gone right for him this weekend,” said Horner. “He knows F1 is a results-based business, and inevitably, when you’re not delivering, then the spotlight is firmly on you.

“When anyone is underperforming, of course, there is always going to become scrutiny on that. And as a team, we need to have both cars scoring points, and that’s the nature of F1. So from a team’s perspective, we’re working with him as hard as we can, to try and support him.

“I think we’ve done everything that we can to support Checo, and we’ll continue to do so in Brazil next weekend. But there comes a point in time that you can only do so much…”

Perez had been retained by Red Bull to provide the team with a level of consistency in a period of constant change. But if the Milton Keynes outfit now considers itself out of the fight for the constructors’ title — with a 54-point gap to McLaren — or feels another driver could be doing a better job, there would be little reason to keep Perez on board after the Sao Paulo GP.

Liam Lawson remains the most likely replacement for Perez. Writing for Motor Sport, Adam Cooper suggested that the Kiwi had done “everything right” in proving himself worthy of the Red Bull seat (apart from damaging Perez’s car in Mexico City) and in his rows with fellow drivers, had demonstrated all the qualities that may be required in someone who just might survive being throw in against Verstappen.

Watch the skies… 

Rain looks likely to be a constant threat during the 2024 Sao Paulo GP weekend, with racing action on Saturday and Sunday expected to take place under dark clouds.

It’s a familiar situation for F1, given the number of previous grands prix that have been turned on their head by Sao Paulo’s unpredictable climate.

Intermittent rain showers in 2008 swung the title advantage back and forth between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton, as both drivers were forced to make several unplanned pitstops to cope with the changing conditions. It was the latter that famously ended on top, as he passed Timo Glock’s Toyota on the last corner of the final lap to win his first drivers’ world championship.

Similar conditions in 2010 levelled the playing field during qualifying, and created a memorable opportunity for Nico Hülkenberg who lapped Interlagos a second quicker than anyone else to secure pole position aboard an underpowered Williams. The German’s current Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen pulled off a similar miracle in 2022, as he earned the American outfit’s first pole position in ever-changing conditions.

With narrow performance gaps separating the front-runners and several midfield constructors in 2024, most of the grid will fancy their chances of an upset if the rain starts falling over Interlagos.