Sunny. Dry. Air +24…25С, highway +45…52С
The weekend at Interlagos again included a Saturday sprint for the sixth and final time of the season. Probably for the last time in the current format, the Formula 1 teams and management will discuss the change next year.
The aim of these changes is to give teams more time to work on the cars, which are now in closed conditions on Fridays. The idea is to move qualifying for the Grand Prix to Saturday.
Meanwhile, qualifying took place on Friday and was interrupted by an approaching thunderstorm, after which the roof of one of the stands collapsed; fortunately no one was injured. The battle was fierce, but Verstappen achieved a record 11th pole position of the season.
Pirelli brought three “medium” compositions to the stage – C2, C3 and C4 in the roles Hard, Medium and Soft. The weather on Saturday was great.
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In the first session everyone went to Medium. Like the day before, the results were very close and the session ended with red flags when Ocon crashed his car in the first sector and hit Alonso’s slower car at high speed.
Carlos Sainz set the best time, completing a lap in 1:11.796. Ocon, Stroll, Zhou, Albon and Sargent were eliminated from the battle.
The start of the second session was postponed – it was necessary to evacuate Ocon’s car and restore the barrier. Stewards took control of the incident. Aston Martin mechanics tried to repair Alonso’s car.
In the second session everyone also chose Medium. The temperature of the asphalt under a cloudless sky rose to 50 degrees and the wind increased. Alonso’s car could not be repaired.
The session went smoothly. Norris showed the best time: 1:11.221. Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Bottas and Alonso did not qualify for the final.
In the final everyone switched to the previously saved Soft. Norris showed the best time and completed a lap in 1:10.622. In today’s sprint, Verstappen will start the race with him from the front row, Perez and Russell will start the race from the second row, and Hamilton and Tsunoda will start the race from the third row.
Sprint Shootout Results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | Session 2 | Session 3 | ||||||
| M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | ||
| 1. L.Norris | McLaren | 2 | 1:11,824 | 6 | 1 | 1:11,221 | 6 | 1 | 1:10,622 | 3 |
| 2. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 4 | 1:11,888 | 7 | 3 | 1:11,262 | 6 | 2 | 1:10,683 | 3 |
| 3. C. Perez | Red Bull | 10 | 1:12,218 | 7 | 2 | 1:11,230 | 6 | 3 | 1:10,756 | 3 |
| 4. D. Russell | Mercedes | 5 | 1:11,976 | 5 | 8 | 1:11,516 | 6 | 4 | 1:10,857 | 3 |
| 5. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 3 | 1:11,870 | 5 | 6 | 1:11,476 | 6 | 5 | 1:10,940 | 3 |
| 6. Yu.Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 15 | 1:12,358 | 6 | 10 | 1:11,676 | 3 | 6 | 1:11.019 | 3 |
| 7. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 7 | 1:12,107 | 6 | 5 | 1:11,473 | 6 | 7 | 1:11,077 | 3 |
| 8. D. Ricciardo | AlphaTauri | 9 | 1:12,175 | 5 | 4 | 1:11,423 | 3 | 8 | 1:11.122 | 3 |
| 9. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 1 | 1:11,796 | 4 | 7 | 1:11,491 | 6 | 9 | 1:11,126 | 3 |
| 10. O. Piastri | McLaren | 14 | 1:12,356 | 6 | 9 | 1:11,648 | 5 | 10 | 1:11,189 | 3 |
| 11. K.Magnussen | Hare | 6 | 1:12,058 | 4 | eleven | 1:11,727 | 6 | |||
| 12. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 8 | 1:12,136 | 4 | 12 | 1:11,752 | 6 | |||
| 13. P. Gasly | Alps | 12 | 1:12,229 | 5 | 13 | 1:11,822 | 3 | |||
| 14. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 13 | 1:12,303 | 5 | 14 | 1:11,872 | 3 | |||
| 15. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | eleven | 1:12,224 | 6 | 15 | – | 0 | |||
| 16. E. Okon | Alps | 16 | 1:12,388 | 5 | ||||||
| 17. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 17 | 1:12,482 | 6 | ||||||
| 18. G.Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 18 | 1:12,497 | 5 | ||||||
| 19. A. Elbon | Williams | 19 | 1:12,525 | 5 | ||||||
| 20. L. Sargent | Williams | 20 | 1:12,615 | 6 | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
