Max Verstappen hits Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris sends Charles Leclerc into the wall - All the drama from 2022 F1 Brazilian GP

The 2022 F1 Brazilian GP had a lot of drama even for a regular race at the venue. Sao Paulo has been notorious for throwing up some great action-packed races. However, the latest edition not only had action but also had a rather off-color weekend for quite a few drivers.

The race kept everyone on their toes with the way it unfolded as there was always something happening from start to finish. Here's the rundown of all the drama from the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP.

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Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen collide on the opening lap of the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP

The drama started on the very first lap as Daniel Ricciardo tagged the rear of Kevin Magnussen's Haas. The two collided and suffered terminal damage. The collision brought out the safety car, bundling the pack up together early on.

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Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen clash with each other

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have not really fought against each other often this season. More often than not, the Red Bull driver has had the edge over the Mercedes driver as the two cars just don't have the parity of the 2021 F1 season.

At the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP, it could have been the race we were all waiting for. However, a collision between the two drivers after the safety car restart left Verstappen out of sync with the rest of the field and at the back. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton's undamaged Mercedes made its way through the field.

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Lando Norris sends Charles Leclerc into the wall

Shortly after Verstappen and Hamilton had their incident, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris came together. The McLaren driver had pinched the position from the Ferrari driver at the start of the race.

Norris was under pressure from Leclerc and in a bid to defend his position from the Ferrari driver, the McLaren driver understeered into Leclerc. The stunt sent the Monegasque spinning into the wall. However, he'd ultimately recover to finish P4 while Norris suffered a DNF.

Reflecting on the incident, Norris called it unfortunate but said he gave as much space as he could. He told Sky Sports:

"I held my line as much as possible. Maybe I could have given five centimeters more and he could have given five centimeters more. Maybe he should expect a little bit more, me not being able to hold the inside line the whole way through, but I did my best."

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Lando Norris stops on track to bring out the safety car

The McLaren driver's DNF as his car stopped on the track in Sector 2 brought out a safety car that worked like a charm for drivers with soft tires. As a result, drivers like Fernando Alonso, who was on a three-stopper, were able to make the most of it and ultimately finish the race in the top five.

It wasn't as kind to drivers with medium tires as Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel tumbled down the order, unable to hold off the fast-charging drivers on softs. Vettel finished the race outside the top 10 despite running as high as the top five early in the race, while Perez finished in P7.

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Max Verstappen defies team orders

Speaking of Sergio Perez, this was not the best F1 race weekend for the driver. The Mexican is in a battle for P2 in the championship with Charles Leclerc. The Mexican was on medium tires in his last stint, leaving him vulnerable to attacks from behind.

After Fernando Alonso jumped Perez, Red Bull swapped positions between Perez and Verstappen with the goal of Verstappen getting the jump on Alonso and Leclerc. Verstappen, unable to get the jump on Alonso, was supposed to give the position back to Perez.

The reigning F1 champion had different ideas as he defied team orders and finished the race in front of him. While Red Bull did call a truce of some kind between the two drivers, it will be interesting to see what's next for both at the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP.