Cloudy. Dry. Air +21…22С, track +34…33С
For the second year in a row, the Brazilian stage was held in sprint format. And again, there were some surprises – this time it helped again.
Qualification took place in variable conditions. The tarmac dried, the tarmac condition improved by the minute – everyone, including Latifi, was on the front line, but after Magnussen led protocol, red flags appeared – Russell flew out and got stuck in the gravel. And as his car was being towed, the rain came again, confirming the results.
Kevin took the first pole of his career and the first in Haas F1 history – on Friday evening everyone congratulated the American team, realizing that he probably wouldn’t be able to hold the lead for long in the sprint.
Red flags and rain made it impossible for many to complete a fast lap, so the alignment of forces on the sprint starting field proved unusual. Magnussen and Verstappen took the front row, Russell and Norris – the second, Sainz and Okon – the third. Ferrari failed to qualify – Sainz started the sprint in fifth, but in the race he will lose five places for the engine replacement, and Leclerc – only tenth.
Pirelli brought the middle three compositions to the podium – C2, C3 and C4 in the role of Hard, Medium and Soft. For a short sprint race of 24 laps, Verstappen and Latifi opted for Medium, the rest started on Soft.
Magnussen kept the lead at the start. Sainz overtook Norris, Hamilton ahead of Alonso. Schumacher climbed from 20th to 16th place.
Alonso went into the pits and replaced the front wing after contact with Okon – he hit his partner’s car from behind.
Top ten in lap 2: Magnussen – Verstappen – Russell – Sainz – Norris – Ocon – Hamilton – Perez – Leclerc – Gasly.
On lap 3 Hamilton overtook Okon for sixth and Verstappen and Magnussen for the lead.
On lap 4 Russell and Sainz Magnussen were ahead.
On lap 5 Hamilton overtook Norris, on lap 6 Magnussen.
On lap 7, Gasly passed Okon for ninth.
On lap 8 Perez overtook Norris and on lap 9 Magnussen.
On lap 10 Vettel overtook Stroll after several attempts for tenth place. Lance defended the position in the first of them and drove Sebastian off the track – receiving a ten second penalty from the stewards.
Top ten in round 10: Verstappen – Russell – Sainz – Hamilton – Perez – Magnussen – Norris – Leclerc – Gasly – Windows.
On lap 11, Ricciardo was ahead of Stroll and Vettel ahead of Okon.
On lap 12 Russell attacked Verstappen, the cars caught up but Max kept the lead. Leclerc overtook Norris for seventh.
On lap 13 Russell repeated the attack but again was left behind.
Yellow flags appeared – Albon withdrew from the race.
On lap 14, Ricciardo overtook Okon for 11th.
On lap 15 Russell overtook Verstappen to lead the race.
On lap 16, Leclerc overtook Magnussen.
Sainz closed the gap on Verstappen – Max’s Medium tires underperformed the others’ Soft – and took the lead on lap 19. In the battle against Carlos, Max damaged the front wing endplate.
On lap 20 Hamilton overtook Verstappen for third place. Norris – Magnussen in the battle for seventh.
Top ten in round 20: Russell – Sainz – Hamilton – Verstappen – Perez – Leclerc – Norris – Magnussen – Gasley – Vettel.
On lap 21 Vettel was ahead of Gasly and moved up to ninth.
On lap 23, Tsunoda overtook Okon for 16th.
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George Russell won the sprint in Sao Paulo on Saturday and will start first on Sunday. Sainz, who finished second, loses five places, leaving the entire front row of the grid, for the first time this season, with Mercedes.
The race is getting interesting!
Sprint results
| pilot | Team | Time | Speed | Glasses |
| 1. D. Russell | Mercedes | – | eight | |
| 2. K. Sainz | Ferrari | +3.995 | 7 | |
| 3. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | +4.492 | 6 | |
| 4. Mr Verstappen | Red Bull | +10,494 | 5 | |
| 5. C.Perez | Red Bull | +11.855 | four | |
| 6. Sh.Lecler | Ferrari | +13.133 | 3 | |
| 7. L. Norris | McLaren | +25.624 | 2 | |
| 8. K. Magnussen | hare | +28.768 | a | |
| 9. S. Vettel | Aston Martin | +30.218 | – | |
| 10. P. Gasly | AlphaTauri | +34.170 | – | |
| 11. D. Riccardo | McLaren | +39.395 | – | |
| 12. M. Schumacher | hare | +41.159 | – | |
| 13. G. Zhou’ | Alfa Romeo | +41,763 | – | |
| 14. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +42.338 | – | |
| 15. F. Alonso | alpine | +48.985 | – | |
| 16. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +50.306 | – | |
| 17. L. Walk | Aston Martin | +50.700 | – | |
| 18. E. Okon | alpine | +51,756 | – | |
| 19. N. Latifi | Williams | +76.850 | – |
best lapTime: George Russell (Mercedes) – 1:14.233 (lap 4)
Reasons for leaving
| pilot | Team | circles | Cause |
| A.Elbon | Williams | 12 |
Championship position : Individual
Championship position : Constructors’ Championship
| Team | Engine | Glasses | |
| = | 1 Red Bull Racing | Red Bull powertrains | 705 |
| = | 2 Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 497 |
| = | 3. Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team | Mercedes | 461 |
| = | 4 Alpine F1 Team | Renault | 153 |
| = | 5 McLaren Racing | Mercedes | 148 |
| = | 6. Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN | Ferrari | 53 |
| = | 7. Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | Mercedes | 49 |
| = | 8 Haas F1 Team | Ferrari | 37 |
| = | 9 Scuderia AlphaTauri | Red Bull powertrains | 35 |
| = | 10 Williams Racing | Mercedes | eight |
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
