2023 São Paulo Grand Prix

The 2023 São Paulo Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023) was a Formula One motor race held on 5 November 2023 at the Interlagos Circuit in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the twentieth round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship and the sixth and final Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise the Formula One sprint format.

2023 São Paulo Grand Prix
Race 20 of 22 in the 2023 Formula One World Championship
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Layout of the Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Race details[1]
Date 5 November 2023
Official name Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023
Location Autódromo José Carlos Pace
São Paulo, Brazil
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.309 km (2.677 miles)
Distance 71 laps, 305.879 km (190.064 miles)
Weather Partly cloudy
Attendance 267,000[2]
Pole position
Driver Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Time 1:10.727
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:12.486 on lap 61
Podium
First Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Second McLaren-Mercedes
Third Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes
Lap leaders

Max Verstappen took pole position for the main race during a weather-affected qualifying, while Lando Norris took the sprint pole position. Both the sprint and main race were won by Verstappen, setting a new Formula One record for highest percentage of wins in a single season. It was Red Bull Racing's 19th win of the season, matching Mercedes's 2016 season win record. Norris finished the race in second place, his 13th career podium, tying Nick Heidfeld for most podiums without a race win. Fernando Alonso finished third, after overtaking Sergio Pérez on the final lap and beat him by 0.053 seconds. This was his ninth podium at Interlagos without ever winning and his first since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Background

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The event was held across the weekend of 3–5 November and was the twentieth round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship. It was the 41st Formula One Grand Prix at this circuit, and the third held under the name of the São Paulo Grand Prix, having previously been titled the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was also the sixth and final Grand Prix weekend of the 2023 season to utilise the Formula One sprint format.[1][3]

Championship standings before the race

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Coming into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 491 points. He led his teammate Sergio Pérez by 251 points and Lewis Hamilton by a further 20 points. Hamilton was ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. in fourth by 37 points, with Fernando Alonso in fifth, tied for points with Sainz. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship with 731 points, 360 points ahead of Mercedes and a further 22 points ahead of Ferrari. McLaren, in fourth, was behind Ferrari by 93 points and ahead of Aston Martin, in fifth, by 20 points.[4]

Entrants

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The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with the exception of Daniel Ricciardo, who replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri starting at the Hungarian Grand Prix.[5][6]

Tyre choices

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Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3 and C4 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.[7]

Practice

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The only free practice session was held on 3 November 2023, at 11:30 local time (UTC−3).[1] Carlos Sainz Jr. ended the session first, while his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc finished second, with George Russell third.[8][9]

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on 3 November 2023, and was scheduled for 15:00 local time (UTC−3),[10] but was delayed by 15 minutes due to debris on track from a Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil session which took place immediately prior to qualifying.[10][11][12][13] The session determined the starting order for the main race.

Qualifying report

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Max Verstappen took pole position after intense rain and thunderstorms caused Q3 to be red-flagged and called off with four minutes remaining. After numerous tribulations throughout the past few races, Lance Stroll found himself in third ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso, who also improved after numerous struggles in the latter half of the season. This is Stroll's highest starting position since the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix where he took pole position.[14] Oscar Piastri was unable to set a time, as his car slipped off into the grass as the weather began to deteriorate. This caused a yellow flag which forced Sergio Pérez to slow, resulting in them starting tenth and ninth respectively.[15]

Penalties were given to George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly for blocking the pit exit in Q1, each driver dropping two places.[16][17][18] The intense rain caused a grandstand to collapse. No major injuries were reported.[19]

Qualifying classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 1   Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:10.436 1:10.162 1:10.727 1
2 16   Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:10.472 1:10.303 1:11.021 2
3 18   Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:10.551 1:10.375 1:11.344 3
4 14   Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:10.557 1:10.237 1:11.387 4
5 44   Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:10.604 1:10.266 1:11.469 5
6 63   George Russell Mercedes 1:10.340 1:10.316 1:11.590 81
7 4   Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:10.623 1:10.021 1:11.987 6
8 55   Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1:10.624 1:10.254 1:11.989 7
9 11   Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:10.668 1:10.219 1:12.321 9
10 81   Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:10.519 1:10.330 No time 10
11 27   Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 1:10.475 1:10.547 N/A 11
12 31   Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1:10.763 1:10.562 N/A 141
13 10   Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 1:10.793 1:10.567 N/A 151
14 20   Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:10.602 1:10.723 N/A 12
15 23   Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1:10.621 1:10.840 N/A 13
16 22   Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:10.837 N/A N/A 16
17 3   Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:10.843 N/A N/A 17
18 77   Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:10.955 N/A N/A 18
19 2   Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 1:11.035 N/A N/A 19
20 24   Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:11.275 N/A N/A 20
107% time: 1:15.263
Source:[20][21]

Notes

  • ^1George Russell, Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly each received two-place grid penalties for impeding other drivers at the pit exit in Q1.[21][16][17][18]

Sprint shootout

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The sprint shootout was held on 4 November 2023, at 11:00 local time (UTC−3), and determined the starting grid for the sprint.[1]

Sprint shootout report

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Lando Norris topped the timing sheets for the second and third segments, granting him a sprint pole position. In SQ1, Esteban Ocon seemingly lost control of his Alpine and drove into Fernando Alonso, sending Ocon's Alpine A523 straight into the wall and breaking Alonso's front left suspension. Alonso was unable to return for the rest of the shootout despite Aston Martin's efforts to fix his car in time for SQ2.[22]

Sprint shootout classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Sprint
grid
SQ1 SQ2 SQ3
1 4   Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:11.824 1:11.221 1:10.622 1
2 1   Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:11.888 1:11.262 1:10.683 2
3 11   Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:12.218 1:11.230 1:10.756 3
4 63   George Russell Mercedes 1:11.976 1:11.516 1:10.857 4
5 44   Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:11.870 1:11.476 1:10.940 5
6 22   Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:12.358 1:11.676 1:11.019 6
7 16   Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:12.107 1:11.473 1:11.077 7
8 3   Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:12.175 1:11.423 1:11.122 8
9 55   Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1:11.796 1:11.491 1:11.126 9
10 81   Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.356 1:11.648 1:11.189 10
11 20   Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:12.058 1:11.727 N/A 11
12 27   Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 1:12.136 1:11.752 N/A 12
13 10   Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 1:12.229 1:11.822 N/A 13
14 77   Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:12.303 1:11.872 N/A 14
15 14   Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:12.224 No time N/A 15
16 31   Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1:12.388 N/A N/A 16
17 18   Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:12.482 N/A N/A 17
18 24   Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:12.497 N/A N/A 18
19 23   Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1:12.525 N/A N/A 19
20 2   Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 1:12.615 N/A N/A 20
107% time: 1:16.821
Source:[23][24]

Sprint

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The sprint was held on 4 November 2023, at 15:30 local time (UTC−3), and was run for 24 laps.[1][10]

Sprint report

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After overtaking sprint polesitter Lando Norris for the lead in the opening turn, Max Verstappen won the sprint. Sergio Pérez finished in third, his first podium of any kind since the Italian Grand Prix.[25][failed verification]

Sprint classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1   Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 24 30:07.209 2 8
2 4   Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 24 +4.287 1 7
3 11   Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 24 +13.617 3 6
4 63   George Russell Mercedes 24 +25.879 4 5
5 16   Charles Leclerc Ferrari 24 +28.560 7 4
6 22   Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 24 +29.210 6 3
7 44   Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 24 +34.726 5 2
8 55   Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 24 +35.106 9 1
9 3   Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 24 +35.303 8
10 81   Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 24 +38.219 10
11 14   Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 24 +39.061 15
12 18   Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 24 +39.478 17
13 10   Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 24 +40.421 13
14 31   Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 24 +42.848 16
15 23   Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 24 +43.394 19
16 20   Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 24 +56.507 11
17 24   Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 24 +58.723 18
18 27   Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 24 +1:00.330 12
19 77   Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 24 +1:00.749 14
20 2   Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 24 +1:00.945 20
Fastest lap:   George Russell (Mercedes) – 1:14.422 (lap 2)
Source:[24][26]

Race

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The race was held on 5 November 2023, at 14:00 local time (UTC−3), and was run for 71 laps.[1]

Race report

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Charles Leclerc crashed out of the race during the formation lap due to a hydraulics problem.[27] Lando Norris moved up to second behind Max Verstappen at the start, while Kevin Magnussen hit Alexander Albon before the first turn, taking both drivers out of the race. The amount of debris caused a safety car period; soon, the race was red-flagged. Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo both suffered damage to their cars due to hitting the debris from the crash, but had their cars fixed in time to restart from the pit lane, albeit one lap down.[28]

Off of the standing restart, Verstappen kept his first place ahead of Norris and, after a few more laps, pulled further ahead. Sergio Pérez overtook Lewis Hamilton, who was struggling with his tyres. Both Alfa Romeo drivers retired due to car problems: Zhou Guanyu on lap 24 and Valtteri Bottas on lap 39. On lap 57, George Russell retired due to overheating. With their cars continuing to struggle from the first-lap damage, Ricciardo and Piastri finished one and two laps down, respectively.[28]

Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso dueled for third for many laps, with Alonso overtaking Pérez for the final time on the last lap and defending against the Red Bull Racing driver to take his first podium since the Dutch Grand Prix, ahead of Pérez by 0.053 seconds. This was his ninth podium at Interlagos without ever winning and his first since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.[29][28][30]

Verstappen won the race by eight seconds, ahead of Norris. In doing so, Verstappen claimed the highest percentage of race wins per season record from Alberto Ascari, a record held since the 1952 season; he also achieved his nineteenth podium of the season, breaking his own record from 2021. Verstappen also overtook Alain Prost in total race wins by reaching his 52nd win.[29]

Race classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1   Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 71 1:56:48.894 1 25
2 4   Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 71 +8.277 6 191
3 14   Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 71 +34.155 4 15
4 11   Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 71 +34.208 9 12
5 18   Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 71 +40.845 3 10
6 55   Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 71 +50.188 7 8
7 10   Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 71 +56.093 15 6
8 44   Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 +1:02.859 5 4
9 22   Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 71 +1:09.880 16 2
10 31   Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 70 +1 lap 14 1
11 2   Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 70 +1 lap 19
12 27   Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 70 +1 lap 11
13 3   Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 70 +1 lap 17
14 81   Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 69 +2 laps 10
Ret 63   George Russell Mercedes 57 Oil temperature 8
Ret 77   Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 39 Hydraulics 18
Ret 24   Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 22 Engine 20
Ret 20   Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 0 Collision 12
Ret 23   Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 0 Collision 13
DNS 16   Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0 Hydraulics 2
Fastest lap:   Lando Norris (McLaren-Mercedes) – 1:12.486 (lap 61)
Source:[21][31][32][33]

Notes

  • ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.[32]
  • ^2Charles Leclerc did not start the race due to a hydraulics failure resulting in a crash during the formation lap. His place on the grid was left vacant.[31][34]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
  • Competitors in bold and marked with an asterisk are the 2023 World Champions.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "São Paulo Grand Prix 2023 – F1 Race". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Record attendance at 2023 São Paulo Grand Prix as Interlagos extends contract". f1destinations.com. 7 November 2023. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  3. ^ "F1 Schedule 2023". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Mexico City 2023 – Championship". StatsF1.com. 29 October 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  5. ^ "2023 São Paulo Grand Prix – Entry List – Corrected" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Breaking: Ricciardo to replace De Vries at AlphaTauri from the Hungarian Grand Prix". Formula 1. 11 July 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Two confirmations and an innovation in the tyre choices for the American continent". Pirelli.com. 28 September 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  8. ^ Walsh, Fergal (3 November 2023). "São Paulo Grand Prix 2023 – F1 Free Practice results". Racingnews365. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023 – First Practice Session Classification" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  10. ^ a b c "Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023". Formula 1. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  11. ^ Jackson, Kieran (3 November 2023). "F1 Brazilian Grand Prix Live: Qualifying updates and practice results at Interlagos". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  12. ^ Smith, Luke; Coleman, Madeline (3 November 2023). "F1 Brazil Grand Prix qualifying live updates: Ferrari tops practice in São Paulo". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  13. ^ Gale, Ewan (3 November 2023). "Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying hit by delay". racingnews365.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Stroll targets podium in Brazil after P3 in qualifying". Formula 1. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  15. ^ Bradley, Charles (3 November 2023). "Revised 2023 Brazilian GP F1 qualifying results: Verstappen on pole". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Infringement – Car 63 – Impeding at Pit Exit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Infringement – Car 31 – Impeding at Pit Exit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Infringement – Car 10 – Impeding at Pit Exit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  19. ^ Mitchell, Rory; Gale, Ewan (4 November 2023). "Severe storm wreaks havoc at Brazilian Grand Prix". RacingNews365. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023 – Qualifying". Formula 1. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  21. ^ a b c "Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023 – Starting Grid". Formula 1. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Norris claims P1 in Sao Paulo Sprint Shootout as he triumphs over Verstappen and Perez". Formula 1. 4 November 2023. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023 – Sprint Shootout". Formula 1. 4 November 2023. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023 – Sprint Grid". Formula 1. 4 November 2023. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  25. ^ "Verstappen clinches victory from Norris and Perez in thrilling Sao Paulo Sprint". Formula 1. 4 November 2023. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  26. ^ "Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023 – Sprint". Formula 1. 4 November 2023. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  27. ^ "Must-see: Front-row starter Charles Leclerc spins off on the Sao Paulo GP formation lap". Formula 1. 6 November 2023. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  28. ^ a b c "Verstappen seals record 17th win of the season from Norris and Alonso in Sao Paulo Grand Prix". Formula 1. 6 November 2023. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  29. ^ a b Kelly, Sean (6 November 2023). "FACTS AND STATS: Verstappen passes Prost on wins, Alonso matches Prost on podiums". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  30. ^ Benson, Andrew (5 November 2023). "'Alonso masterclass burnishes the legend of one of the greatest'". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  31. ^ a b "Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023 – Race Result". Formula 1. 5 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  32. ^ a b "Formula 1 Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023 – Fastest Laps". Formula 1. 5 November 2023. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  33. ^ "São Paulo 2023". StatsF1.com. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  34. ^ "What the teams said – Race day in São Paulo". Formula 1. 5 November 2023. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  35. ^ a b "São Paulo 2023 – Championship". StatsF1.com. 5 November 2023. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
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