McLaren’s Lando Norris claims F1 Sprint victory for the São Paulo GP in commanding fashion as Oscar Piastri ended his morning in the barriers.
McLaren’s Lando Norris lined up on pole alongside Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli at the sharp end of the Interlagos grid. His McLaren teammate, and championship competitor Oscar Piatri started behind him in P3, with George Russell’s Mercedes alongside.
Following disappointing performances in yesterday’s Sprint Qualifying, both Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Carlos Sainz started from the Pitlane. Both drivers elected to make setup changes while in Parc Ferme conditions.
F1 Sprint start & opening laps
With a mix of soft and medium tyres on the drying grid, it was clear conditions would be unknown. Despite a slightly damp track, Norris made a clean getaway from pole on his medium tyres. Piastri made an opportunistic move on Antonelli into turn 1, but couldn’t maintain the position, slotting back into P3.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a strong start, improving to P8 behind his teammate from P11. Leclerc also benefitted on the opening lap, improving to P7 from his P8 starting position. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen also bested Fernando Alonso before turn 1 with an excellent start.
Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman endured a messy coming together at turn 4. Lawson attempted a move up the inside, making contact and spinning the Haas of Bearman.
With DRS activated at the beginning of lap 3, Norris had broken the 1 second gap to Antonelli. The young Mercedes driver found himself under pressure once again from Piastri. He continued to chase the Mercedes for the coming laps.
At the beginning of lap 6, Oscar Piastri found his way into the barriers at the exit of turn 3. Having touched a wet kerb, his McLaren spun. Nico Hulkenberg then repeated the incident, followed shortly by Franco Colapinto. With 2 of the three cars stricken, a safety car was deployed before it was upgraded to a red flag.
Following the incident, Antonelli reported that Norris had also touched the kerb, dragging water onto the circuit.
F1 Sprint restart
Norris elected to get underway just after pit entry on the restart. Despite a slight wiggle under acceleration, he managed to hold position ahead of the charging Mercedes’. Russell attempted a move on his teammate into turn 1, but was unable to hold the position.
Further down the field, Verstappen overshot the first corner, but managed to keep his position ahead of Fernando Alonso. The Aston Martin man soon found himself under pressure from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc behind. Their battle was watched with anticipation by Lewis Hamilton just behind.
At the beginning of lap 15, Leclerc proved much closer to Alonso. Despite the benefit of slipstream and DRS, he didn’t have the advantage, remaining behind the Aston Martin at turn 4. The Ferrari kept the pressure on however, as Alonso was instructed to lift and coast.
F1 Sprint final laps
With 7 laps remaining, Norris, struggling with his tyres, began losing time to Antonelli behind. The Mercedes driver cut 3 tenths out of Norris’ lead, rapidly approaching DRS range. On lap 20, the Mercedes man suddenly found himself in Norris’ DRS range. Despite his evident pace advantage, he was unable to capitalise on his first attempt.
Further down, Pierre Gasly, enjoying a more agreeable Alpine, stayed tucked behind the 2nd Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. The Frenchman kept the pressure on, following closely for the majority of the stint in the hopes of nabbing the final points position. With a clear pace advantage, Gasly comfortably passed the struggling Aston Martin.
In the closing laps, the battles heated up. Leclerc first caught Alonso, passing him for P5 on lap 22. Lewis Hamilton was next in line, closely following his teammate onto the back of Alonso’ Aston Martin.
Final lap overtakes were soon stopped as rookie Gabriel Bortoleto found himself hitting the barrier on the start-finish straight. Attacking the Williams of Albon, Bortoleto dived to the inside heading into turn 1. Suddenly losing the rear, his Sauber heavily struck the inside barrier before bouncing across the circuit and striking the outer barrier in mid air.
Thankfully, Bortoleto exited the Sauber and was taken in the medical car to be assessed.
