The stage is set for the race weekend in Brazil, where points will be distributed on both Saturday and Sunday. Naturally, all eyes are on the thrilling title fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. We kick off this afternoon with the sprint race at Interlagos, where McLaren has painted the first starting row entirely orange.
On Friday, the drivers clad in papaya colors already dealt an initial blow to Red Bull by clocking the first and second fastest times in the sprint qualifying. This is the ideal starting position to completely dominate this short race and further extend their lead in both championships. Max Verstappen steered his Red Bull to P4 and is sandwiched between the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc (P3) and Carlos Sainz (P5). With the recent races in mind, the reigning world champion knows that the red cars are currently tough to beat.
And right now, Verstappen needs every point he can get to ensure his lead over Norris does not shrink any further. Yes, it’s ‘just’ a sprint race and fewer points are awarded than at the Grand Prix tomorrow, but haven’t we often seen a title fight decided by just a handful of points? He can’t expect much support from his teammate in this sprint race, who, once again, starts from a disappointing thirteenth place. Meanwhile, his intended successor Liam Lawson starts from P8 in the lesser Visa RB car. Will Red Bull intervene this season to swap these drivers’ seats?
Furthermore, there are two other names that stand out positively in the top 10: Pierre Gasly in seventh place and Oliver Bearman, who was called up to replace the sick Kevin Magnussen, we see at P10. Once again, ahead of Haas teammate and qualifying beast Nico Hülkenberg.
Mixed Feelings for Hamilton
Finally, there’s a driver who will hit the asphalt today with mixed feelings. I’m referring to Lewis Hamilton. The British driver had a disappointing sprint qualification and didn’t manage better than the eleventh time. As a result, he’s positioned right in front of Sergio Pérez’s RB20 on the grid. This is a blow for the seven-time world champion who was hoping to shine here in the birthplace of his idol who passed away thirty years ago. If he doesn’t manage to pull it off, he’ll have another chance after today’s sessions. Hamilton will then pay tribute to Ayrton Senna by driving the legendary McLaren MP4/5B, the car with which the Brazilian won the world title in 1990, in São Paulo.
The sprint race begins this afternoon at 14:00 UTC.
