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Formula 1
Brazilian GP
F1 Brazilian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Sprint Quali & Race
Saturday's action from the 20th round of the 2023 Formula 1 season
Interlagos hosts the closing leg of the final triple header of the year, with just two races remaining of the 2023 season after the chequered flag falls on Sunday's grand prix.
While Max Verstappen and Red Bull may have respectively wrapped up the titles, the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez for second in the drivers' standings is fierce.
As is the fight at the bottom of the constructors' standings, with the margins separating Williams, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas closing at recent events.
Following yesterday's rain-shortened qualifying session headed by Verstappen, the sixth and final sprint race of the year will start at 6:30pm GMT, following sprint qualifying at 2:00pm GMT.
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Alonso is pretty skilled in most things, including strategy and team management - as Pedro de la Rosa revealed in an anecdote about their Dubai 24 hour karting exploits from 2021 in a recent feature you can read here. But we're not sure he'll be asked to muck in on the spanners as M-Sport WRC drivers Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux were on the Safari last year.
In case you missed any of the action in an eventful session red-flagged following Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso's crash, you can read the full report here.
We'll take a pause there on the live text, but do be sure to join us later on as we build up to the sprint race at 6:30 GMT. See you then.
Hello one and all! It is F1 sprint race time - the final one of this season! The pitlane is open and the cars are on the way to the grid.
Norris starred in sprint qualifying by beating both Red Bulls to pole position, but he did pick up a reprimand for a slow lap on a cool down run. Not to worry McLaren fans, his pole is safe.
There was also no further action taken by the stewards on the Ocon and Alonso clash during the first segment of sprint qualifying, because neither driver was found predominantly to blame. Here's what happened: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/alonso-in-the-wrong-place-wrong-moment-in-scary-ocon-f1-crash/10542703/
All the drivers have safely made it to the grid, including Ocon and Alonso, after their respective teams have worked rapidly to repair their cars in time for the sprint.
So, what to expect from the sixth and final sprint race? Four out of previous five have been won by the polesitter: Verstappen in Austria, Belgian and the US, plus Piastri in Qatar. Only in Azerbaijan did polesitter Leclerc miss out when Perez was the victor.
It is safe to predict it will be elbows out between Norris and Verstappen from the front row, but they've often fought very fairly in recent battles - particularly the McLaren driver. Will their friendship be tested today?
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In terms of tyres, it'll be a soft vs medium dilemma. Both Ferrari drivers hinted at going for the soft compound but it comes with that risk of the fading before the finish - and the track temperature is a scorching 54C.
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There is also zero chance of another apocalyptic thunderstorm like the one that cut short Friday's qualifying this time yesterday.
A quick reminder that in the sprint race the points go from eight for the winner down to one for eighth place. So, top eight is great, top eight is... not great.
Tyres: Magnussen, Hulkenberg and Sargeant have gone for mediums, everyone else is on the softs.
Out of the frontrunners, Tsunoda is the only driver with a fresh set of softs for the sprint. So he should be one to watch into Turn 1 from sixth place.
The formation lap is under way, Norris leading the F1 car train off the grid in a leisurely manner.
The McLaren driver heads the pack back to the starting grid as the tension builds. Here we go...
Lights green
Verstappen takes the lead into Turn 1 from Norris! He got a mega start and flew into the first corner.
Russell is up to third and then takes second off Norris on the opening lap! Perez has been dumped back to fifth in all of this.
Russell is sprinting after Verstappen in the lead on lap two, as Norris tries to recover from his poor opening lap. Hamilton is chasing the McLaren driver with Perez in tow.
Hamilton fends off a move from Perez into Turn 1 to keep hold of fourth. Further back Ricciardo has lost places and is ninth stuck behind Sainz.
At the start of lap four Perez, with the aid of slipstream and DRS, dives by Hamilton into Turn 1 for fourth.
Verstappen leads by 1.3s at the end of lap four from Russell and is crucially edged out of DRS range.
Norris, with DRS, regains second place with a move into Turn 1 on Russell.
Hamilton has fended off the advances of Leclerc for now, who looked for a way by just as Perez had overtaken the Brit, but he has dropped back now.
Double disaster for Haas, as Magnussen loses a place to Alonso and then Hulkenberg loses places to Ocon and Stroll.
Verstappen still leads, with a 1.4s gap to Norris, who is also out of DRS range from Russell behind.
At the start of lap eight, Perez overtakes Russell for third place using that potent DRS into Turn 1. But it doesn't last as Russell repays the favour down to Turn 4 to regain the place.
Albon had reported oil coming from the Alfa Romeo of Bottas, but he has since overtaken the Finn who is still lapping at a solid pace.
On to lap 10 of 24, Verstappen's advantage is up to 1.8s as he appears to be matching the pace of Norris behind to keep his lead.
Perez makes his move on Russell stick. It is the same again, Perez using slipstream and DRS into Turn 1, but he moves across to take the racing line and that denies Russell the run on him to Turn 4.
Ricciardo is all over the rear of Sainz in the fight for the final point place in the sprint. AlphaTauri is the only F1 team to never score a point in a sprint but it is looking good today with Tsunoda seventh and Ricciardo ninth.
Ricciardo makes his move into Turn 1 on Sainz, but goes wide into the Senna Esses and that hands the Ferrari the chance to gain momentum to return to eighth before Turn 4.
Behind them Alonso and Gasly are fighting for 11th place and Stroll and Ocon are tussling for 13th.
Ricciardo's next attack on Sainz is a repeat result, getting by at Turn 1 but then conceding the place again at Turn 4. That invites Piastri to the party and he gets by Ricciardo for ninth.
What great racing! Alonso and Gasly fight for almost an entire lap before the Alpine has to yield at Turn 4 to see Alonso up to 11th.
At the end of lap 16, Verstappen's lead remains at 1.7s, but he's asking if he can push more through the high speed corners, as he is losing time to Norris at through Turn 6-7.
The front two have bolted clear of Perez in third, who is over seven seconds behind Norris.
After a brief respite of the overtaking action, Stroll kicks things off again taking 12th place off Gasly. Lots of drivers are struggling for tyre performance now.
Verstappen is pressing his advantage home now, as his lead jumps up by half a second on lap 18. Norris is now 2.4s back.
By: Autosport Staff
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