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Formula 1 São Paulo GP

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

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22, Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-22, out of the pits

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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Meanwhile Leclerc has moved ahead of Magnussen to take sixth, but the poleman is still ahead of Norris as the best of the rest in seventh.
Stroll has been handed a 10-second time penalty for a dangerous manoeuvre, which we can only assume was his hard defence against Vettel. Expect a tense team debrief at Aston after this.
Behind Magnussen in seventh, Norris is still eighth ahead of Gasly, Vettel and Ricciardo, while Stroll is busy defending his position on-track at least from Schumacher. Ocon continues to plummet and has slipped back to 16th. Alonso after his stop has passed Latifi and runs 18th.
Russell has scampered off into the distance now, and Verstappen will face a fight on his hands over the closing laps to hold Sainz and Hamilton at bay.
Contact! Sainz is through on Verstappen, who loses part of his front wing endplate against the Ferrari. Can he stay out?
Hamilton now breezes past Verstappen to take third. It's a Mercedes 1-3!
Norris has had enough of sitting on Magnussen's gearbox and makes his move stick into Turn 4 to claim eighth place from the poleman.
Sainz's right-rear tyre clipped Verstappen as he came through at Turn 1, will the Spaniard get away with that contact without any repercussion? Meanwhile Perez is now closing on Verstappen's fourth place as the Dutchman is now running without his left-front wing endplate.
Vettel has now taken Gasly for ninth place. It's been a solid afternoon's work for the Aston Martin driver.
Two laps to go for Russell, who has a 3.7 second lead over Sainz and looks comfortable out in front.
Hamilton doesn't appear close enough to Sainz to have a pop for second, the leading trio seemingly content to take their starting positions for tomorrow now.
Points are awarded down to eighth position in the sprint race. Can Magnussen hold onto P8 as Vettel chases after him?
Last lap for George Russell, who is on course to take the checkered flag for the first time in his F1 career.
Checkered flag
It's victory for George Russell in the Interlagos sprint race! He takes the flag first ahead of Sainz and Hamilton, as Verstappen limps home fourth with his damaged front wing.
Perez follows his team leader home in fifth, ahead of Leclerc, Norris and poleman Magnussen who picks up the final point for eighth.
After their lap one contretemps, it's a disastrous day for Alpine with Alonso 15th and Ocon tumbling to 18th. Two points for Norris finishing seventh makes the constructors' championship race for fourth that little bit more interesting...
With Sainz carrying a five-place grid penalty into tomorrow, Mercedes will lock out the front row of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Quite the turnaround for the Silver Arrows after its early season struggles.
Russell is mobbed by his mechanics after a sweet success. It won't go down in the books as a grand prix win, but he has every chance of doing just that tomorrow as he starts from pole after a superbly-judged sprint victory.
Well then, that whets the appetite nicely for tomorrow doesn't it?
That was a truly breathless sprint race, where differing tyre strategies and the power of DRS down the long pit straight threw up a fascinating bout. Verstappen will perhaps rue choosing the medium tyre, going against the grain with Latifi the only other driver to go for the yellow sidewall rubber.
A makeshift awning is set up in lieu of an official podium on the pitstraight, and Hamilton gets a warm welcome from the packed grandstands opposite after being granted honourary Brazilian citizenship earlier this week.
But the biggest cheers are reserved for winner Russell, who is presented with a medal around his neck. Not quite as good as a trophy, but better than a model Pirelli tyre we'll wager.
Was that the best F1 sprint race yet? Let us know your thoughts.
Well, we suspect not if you're an Alpine fan.
To recap, with Sainz's penalty, the grid for tomorrow will look like this:
1. Russell
2. Hamilton
3. Verstappen
4. Perez
5. Leclerc
6. Norris
7. Sainz
8. Magnussen
The remainder of the grid is as follows:
9. Vettel
10. Gasly
11. Ricciardo
12. Schumacher
13. Zhou
14. Bottas
15. Alonso
16. Tsunoda
17. Stroll
18. Ocon
19. Latifi
20. Albon
Breaking news
Here's the full report from that madcap sprint race, courtesy of F1 editor Matt Kew: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-brazilian-gp-russell-overhauls-verstappen-to-win-sprint-race/10398896/
Footage on social media appears to show one of the Alpines on fire in parc ferme as well. A bad day for the French team just got a lot worse.
We understand it's Ocon's car, which tumbled back from a points-paying position to finish ahead only of Latifi's medium-shod Williams.
Plenty to recap then after that, as George Russell pounced on Max Verstappen to take victory in the sprint ahead of Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton, while Verstappen brought his car (sans front wing endplate) home fourth. We'll be back tomorrow building up to the Brazilian Grand Prix - after today's antics, we can't wait! In the meantime, keep up with all the latest news from Interlagos on Autosport.com. Until then, see you soon.

By: autosport.com

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