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F1 Brazilian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP2 and sprint
Minute-by-minute updates for the F1 Brazilian GP's FP2 and sprint race sessions
F1’s sprint race format returns at the penultimate round of the 2022 season, which is set to shake up the Brazilian GP at Interlagos.
Having wrapped up both F1 world titles already this season, Max Verstappen and Red Bull will look to take another clean sweep having won both sprint races earlier this season at Imola and the Red Bull Ring.
But Verstappen will need to beat shock polesitter Kevin Magnussen, who secured top spot in a wet qualifying, after Q3 was halted by a red flag caused by George Russell sliding off, before the weather worsened and denied any chance for improvements.
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Summary
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Summary
- George Russell wins the sprint race to set up an all-Mercedes front row for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix
- The Briton passes Max Verstappen on lap 15 of 24 for the lead and pulls away to win from Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton
- Verstappen, alone among the frontrunners in choosing medium tyres, led early after passing polesitter Kevin Magnussen's Haas on lap three
- But Verstappen picks up front wing damage as Sainz - who will start seventh tomorrow with a five-place grid penalty for an engine change - overtook him, causing him to drop back
- Alpine drivers Ocon and Alonso clash twice on opening lap, the later suffers front wing damage and has to pit. The pair finish lowly 15th (Alonso) and 18th with Ocon's car on fire in parc ferme
- Stroll given 10-second time penalty for dangerous move on Aston team-mate Vettel, who recovers to finish ninth
- Albon retires with mechanical issue in his Williams after sitting out FP2 for Sargeant to gain extra superlicence point
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Leaderboard
- Russell, Mercedes
- Sainz, Ferrari
- Hamilton, Mercedes
- Verstappen, Red Bull
- Perez, Red Bull
- Leclerc, Ferrari
- Norris, McLaren
- Magnussen, Haas
- Vettel, Aston Martin
- Gasly, AlphaTauri
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Hello one and all, and welcome to our usual coverage of all things F1. We'll have a sprint race later today, but there's the small matter of an FP2 session to get through first at the Interlagos circuit.
We have a rarity for this session - Logan Sargeant is in for Alex Albon in this session to try to stock up on FIA superlicence points. He needs 24 laps of the Interlagos circuit to claim it, after missing out in Mexico.
So if you hadn't heard by now, Kevin Magnussen is on pole for the sprint later. A popular result, of course.
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It's almost FP2 time, and we've got a 20-percent risk of rain for this session. Temperatures are around 25 degrees.
Lights green
Green light, here we go! There's a pair of Astons, an Alfa, and a Ferrari to begin.
Vettel was first on track for his final Brazil free practice session. Stroll, Bottas, Sainz, Leclerc, Schumacher and Zhou are also on the road, as Sargeant emerges.
Stopwatch
Zhou kicks us off with a 1m17.059s, quicker than Schumacher by about 0.6s.
Stopwatch
It's a 1m16.463s for Bottas, then Leclerc goes quickest - but Sainz is top for now with a 1m16.014s.
Leclerc posts a 1m15.868s, as Perez goes up to third with a time just a shade slower than Sainz's. Lots of pace in that Red Bull along the sweeping back straight.
Just the McLarens and AlphaTauris are yet to break cover yet, as Alonso and Magnussen head out.
Stopwatch
It's a 1m15.115s for Russell on softs, who overturns a Perez lap to go top. Hamilton is up to third, 0.6s off Russell but on the hard compound tyre.
Stopwatch
Russell improves with a 1m14.916s, as Latifi has an off at Juncao to bring out a brief yellow.
Poleman Magnussen pumps in a 1m15.815s to go P4, ahead of the two Ferraris.
That's everyone on track now, as Gasly and Tsunoda emerge from the pitlane after a 12-minute break. Ricciardo and Norris went out a little earlier, on mediums and softs respectively.
Gasly fires his AlphaTauri into third, setting a 1m15.636s on soft boots.
It seems most of the focus so far in the session is seeing how far these tyres go, mostly with an eye to Sunday's race. But it can't hurt to know whether a soft tyre gamble for the sprint later might pay off...
Sargeant-watch: The American has completed 14 laps of the 24 he needs for a superlicence point.
So, is anyone improving? Is anyone making big strides towards top spot in this enthralling FP2 session? Sort of - and by sort of, we mean no.
Stopwatch
Esteban Ocon's gone top; the Frenchman breaks the session out of the doldrums and places a 1m14.604s on top of the timing board.
Hamilton displaces Perez to go third, while Sargeant has bolted on softs and moved up to 12th position so far. He's on 18/24 laps now.
Verstappen splits the Mercedes pair to go up to third, before Perez moves up to P2 with a 1m14.788s - just two-tenths shy of Ocon's headliner.
Schumacher moves his Haas up to seventh, just over a tenth clear of team-mate Magnussen. Meanwhile, Sargeant has done his required laps, so a superlicence point is his.
Alonso fires his Alpine up to fourth, so it's a nicely mirrored top six - Alpine, Red Bull, Mercedes, Alpine, Red Bull, and indeed Mercedes.
Drivers are finding the limits of grip around this Interlagos circuit - Hamilton getting a slight slide on in the Senna S. Sargeant's done his laps and he's out of the car now - mic drop and he's out.
There's maybe three minutes left now. So that's good, isn't it? Hardly a blockbuster affair this afternoon.
Checkered flag
The clock hath struck half past, and did it come to pass that the chequered flag fluttered in the breeze. Sir Esteban of Ocon, atop his noble Alpine steed, remained the fastest of all.
The knight named Sir Checo gave battle, but 'twas in vain; the Red Bull driver could not continue the charge and conceded defeat in their joust.
It's Ocon, Perez, Russell, Alonso, Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Schumacher, Magnussen and Norris in the top 10.
Sainz, Tsunoda, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Bottas, Latifi, Stroll, Vettel, Zhou and Sargeant complete the field.
Breaking news
Here's the report from an "exciting" FP2 session at Interlagos: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-brazilian-gp-ocon-fastest-from-perez-and-russell-in-final-practice/10398777/
We'll be back shortly for something that WILL be exciting (we hope!) - the sprint race, which begins in about 2 hours and 45 minutes by our watches. See you then!
Welcome back one and all, we're just over 20 minutes away from the start of the sprint race in Interlagos. Hope you're sitting comfortably, this one could be fun.
In case you've been under a rock and missed it yesterday, Kevin Magnussen will start from pole after surprising everybody in Q3 as the weather began to turn. Not much chance of a repeat of that today it appears, but then you never can tell with Brazil sometimes...
It was Magnussen's first F1 pole, and the first too for his Haas team since it arrived in F1 in 2015. As feel-good stories go, this was right up there. But as Adam Cooper explains here, it wasn't all down to luck either: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-factors-that-helped-magnussen-pull-off-shock-f1-pole/10398564/
Magnussen may not have stood on an F1 podium since his debut at the 2015 Australian GP, but he has had recent experience of winning. That came during his year out of grand prix racing, in the IMSA SportsCar Championship last season. He shared a Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac with Renger van der Zande as the pair took the spoils at the Detroit round.
The cars have lined up on the grid for the sprint, which will be held over 24 laps. We'll let you know shortly who is running on what compound of tyres.
Magnussen was of course originally planning to race for Peugeot in the World Endurance Championship this year prior to his recall by Haas. Peugeot had a tough old time of it in the WEC season finale in Bahrain today, as the #8 Toyota crew of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa clinched the title. We'll have the full report from that race on Autosport.com soon.
Now, Magnussen isn't the first shock poleman we've seen down the years at Interlagos. Back in 2010, the man rumoured to be announced shortly as his team-mate at Haas Nico Hulkenberg took his maiden F1 pole with Williams - but dropped like a stone in the race. Can Magnussen hold off the baying pack behind him and keep himself at the sharp end for the Grand Prix tomorrow? It's a tall order, but the Dane will no doubt have been sharpening his elbows in readiness for the scrap.
Intriguingly, we have six different cars filling the top six positions on the grid. Max Verstappen lines up second for Red Bull ahead of George Russell's Mercedes, the McLaren of Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz's Ferrari and Esteban Ocon (Alpine). Fernando Alonso breaks that chain with the second Alpine in seventh ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc. We'll get onto the Monegasque next...
By: autosport.com
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