Verstappen won the sprint in Sao Paulo

Sunny. Dry. Air +24…28С, highway +53С

In 2023, the Sao Paulo weekend was the sixth and last of the season with a Saturday sprint. Lando Norris won the Sprint Shootout qualifying. He and Yuki Tsunoda violated the race director’s instructions by driving too slowly around the track, but unlike Friday, escaped with an official warning, leaving the starting field unchanged.

Norris and Verstappen started from the front row, Perez and Russell from the second row, Hamilton and Tsunoda from the third row.

Pirelli brought three “medium” compositions to the stage – C2, C3 and C4 in the roles Hard, Medium and Soft. Saturday the weather was warm, the asphalt temperature exceeded 50 degrees.

In the sprint, Magnussen, Hulkenberg and Sargent started on Medium, the rest opted for Soft, but only Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Bottas and Zhou had fresh kits. The drivers had to drive 24 laps.

At the start, Verstappen overtook Norris to lead the race. Hamilton overtook Perez and moved up to fourth place. Russell passed Norris to move into second place.

Top ten in round 2: Verstappen – Russell – Norris – Hamilton – Perez – Leclerc – Tsunoda – Sainz – Ricciardo – Piastri.

On the fourth lap Perez was ahead of Hamilton in the battle for fourth place, on the fifth lap Norris overtook Russell in the battle for second place.

On lap 9, Perez passed Russell for third place. George fought back and regained the position, but made a mistake braking into the first corner and Sergio took the lead again.

On the 12th lap Ricciardo was ahead of Sainz in the battle for 8th place, but at the fourth corner Carlos regained the position, after which this happened again and eventually Piastri overtook Daniel.

Top ten in round 15: Verstappen – Norris – Perez – Russell – Hamilton – Leclerc – Tsunoda – Sainz – Piastri – Ricciardo.

At the end of the sprint, everyone’s Soft tires were badly worn. The speeds dropped, the riders did not attack, they took advantage of the lead they had built up and kept their positions. Those who started on Medium also dropped back, outlining a strategy for Sunday’s race, which won’t be as hot.

Gasly made a mistake braking in the first corner and allowed Stroll to pass. Leclerc and Tsunoda were ahead of Hamilton. Ricciardo put pressure on Sainz, but the sprint distance was over.

Max Verstappen won the Sao Paulo sprint for his seventh victory in Saturday’s strange but interesting race. Lando Norris finished second, Sergio Perez third.

Tomorrow we have Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Sprint results

Best round: George Russell (Mercedes) – 1:14.422 (2nd lap, 208.438 km/h)

Championship Position: Individual Competition

Championship position: Constructors’ Championship