Verstappen breaks record at Brazilian Grand Prix, prepares for victory in Las Vegas

Formula 1 racing champion Max Verstappen won his 17th Grand Prix of the year at the Brazilian Grand Prix, setting a new record on Sunday while Fernando Alonso demonstrated impressive defensive strategy.

Verstappen drove flawlessly and Red Bull equaled the number of victories in a season achieved by the Mercedes team in 2016, when the racers won 19 victories, achieving a 90.5% winning streak.

There was also a notable performance by McLaren racer Lando Norris who placed 2nd, finishing 8.2 seconds behind the leader. Having achieved a Formula 1 podium 13 times without winning, the British driver is now tied with Nick Heidfeld for an undesirable statistic.

Last month, the Dutch driver passed Alain Prost to claim the championship in Qatar, a race which also left “the Bulls” securing the constructor's championship. This year Christian Horner and his Red Bull squad have won 95% of their races, and it seems only a DNF, or another Singapore race, could potentially derail them.

"Well done Max, that was absolutely clinical once again,” Horner said over the radio after Verstappen won the sprint race, and then made two getaways to win this Red Flagged Grand Prix. Verstappen's victory pla ces him with a 266 point lead over second place and his teammate 'Checo' Pérez, who is now 32 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

“The starts were very important today. Both of them were I think very good. After that the whole race was about the management of the tires,” Verstappen told a cache of reporters. 

Another highlight of the race was Fernando Alonso's defensive skills, and a seldom seen overtake of a Red Bull on the last lap. “Magic” as Alonso is nicknamed evaded the menacing Red Bull by never keeping the same route and always making sure Pérez was driving with dirty air.

Starting in ninth place, Pérez had to prevent Lewis Hamilton from scoring more points than him, and also Alonso who took third place at the beginning of the race.

In spite of not catching the top two racers, the Spaniard maintained his position until being overtaken by Checo. The two-time world champion employed defensive maneuvers including passing Red Bull and maintaining his position, securing the last podium spot on South American soil. 

Few races have been so close since the inception of Formula 1 in 1950.

Checo lost the podium after Hannah Schmitz, the team's principal strategy engineer, advised him to get rid of his soft tires a few laps earlier than scheduled.

Schmitz has been praised all year for her excellent strategies with Verstappen's car.

“It was like 30 laps when I had the pressure from Checo (Perez),” Verstappen said. “When he passed me two laps to the end, I thought 'okay, this is gone, the podium is not possible anymore' Fernando said after the race. This is a phenomenal result for the team. We have been struggling for a couple of months, especially the last two events with two retirements.”

Lance Stroll finished fifth, followed by Carlos Sainz, the only Ferrari to finish in Brazil while Pierre Gasly finished seventh, Hamilton eighth, Yuki Tsunoda ninth, and Esteban Ocon 10th.

But the two characters from the “Magic Swap” were the center of attention all weekend. 

On Oct. 10, F1 reporter and car enthusiast Tomás Slafer suggested adding several years to Pérez's career and providing Alonso with a competitive car to further enhance his accolades before he retires. During one of their "SoyMotor" live podcasts, he stated that it was purely his opinion without any actual rumors. 

Since Red Bull is rumored to want Sergio's contract terminated, and Fernando is driving better than anyone with an Aston Martin, he suggested Red Bull and Aston Martin trade drivers. Aston Martin would get a strong number one driver for their team, most likely on a long-term contract, and Red Bull would be able to continue capitalizing on Alonso's success.

As a result, the rumor was aptly dubbed "Magic Swap" by their own fans.

Founded in Spain, SoyMotor is an independent news organization that has established a respected team of both senior and cub journalists to cover Formula One in Spanish. Participants included Antonio Lobato, Cristóbal Rosaleny, Tómas Slafer, and Jorge Iglesias, as well as Professor Martí Muñoz.

Neither Lobato nor Rosaleny have expressed confidence that the swap will take place.

It is now the final weeks of the racing season, with two races remaining. Next week is the highly anticipated and controversial Las Vegas Grand Prix, in which Checo could potentially capture the second place in this year's driver's championship. 

With a track distance of approximately 3.85 miles, the Las Vegas street circuit will take the drivers and fans right next to historic attractions including the Bellagio, the Venetian, and Caesar's Palace from Nov. 16-18.

The F1 cars are expected to match the speeds similar to the ones found at Italy's 'Temple of Speed'.