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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
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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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The formation lap is under way, Norris leading the F1 car train off the grid in a leisurely manner.
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.
Tyres: Magnussen, Hulkenberg and Sargeant have gone for mediums, everyone else is on the softs.
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.
Sun
There is also zero chance of another apocalyptic thunderstorm like the one that cut short Friday's qualifying this time yesterday.
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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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?
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.
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.
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/
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
As F1 teams begin to think about lunch, spare a thought for the Alpine and Aston mechanics as work continues on Ocon and Alonso's cars. Will the drivers play the role of delivery men as they toil?
Sixth for Tsunoda also feels like a telling result after his disappointing clash with Piastri last weekend curtailed hopes of points and prompted him to lock himself away in a hotel room. Ricciardo was fourth in SQ2 but it's the Japanese who claims the qualifying spoils in their head-to-head today.
Norris will have his mirrors full of Red Bulls at the start later on, with Verstappen starting alongside and Perez eager to capitalise on a stronger starting position than he'll have tomorrow. So this won't be one to miss.
Norris admits he feels surprised to take pole after suggesting he wasn't happy with his lap. Can he join Qatar victor Piastri in becoming a sprint race winner later on?
There's barely a hint of emotion from Norris as he climbs out of his car after parking in front of a P1 board for the first time since Sochi Q3 in 2021. No surprise who the crowds are happiest about, as chants of 'Checo, Checo' greet the Mexican Red Bull driver.
Tsunoda shines with sixth ahead of Leclerc, Ricciardo, Sainz and Piastri as McLaren bookend the top 10.
Norris edges Verstappen to the top spot by 0.061s, with Perez third ahead of Russell and Hamilton.
Checkered flag
Now here come the Mercedes, but they're not able to topple Norris either. The McLaren has pole for the sprint!
Perez now slots into third ahead of Tsunoda, as Ricciardo can only manage seventh.
Tsunoda zooms into third ahead of Leclerc and Piastri.
Piastri kicks the ball rolling with a 1m11.189s, which is immediately usurped by Norris. But Verstappen can only split the McLarens!
Here we go then, one run on the softs for everybody to decide who will start the sprint race from the front.
In fact, Verstappen overtook Tsunoda and Leclerc as well. "Getting blocked here," he yells over the radio before deciding to do something about it.
And here they all come at once. Verstappen gets racy and dives past Ricciardo as they exit the pits.
We have movement at last. Piastri is the first man out.
Track temperatures have risen to 51.8°C, compared to 43.3°C at the start. Who will the conditions suit best?
This is the shortest of the three sessions, but teams continue to play the waiting game. Will everybody go out at once, or will they stagger it in an orderly fashion? Knowing F1, I expect the former...
Green flag
We're go for SQ3, but nobody has ventured out yet.
After a disappointing Friday, Ricciardo was a fine fourth ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton, with Sainz shuffled back to eighth. Piastri and Tsunoda complete the top 10 who will go for pole in SQ3.
Norris said he was gutted to end up seventh yesterday as he believed he was a contender for pole. Granted we'll switch from the mediums to softs for SQ3, but his pace in SQ2 backs that up as he beat Perez to the top spot by 0.009s, with Verstappen 0.041s back in third.
Tsunoda only just squeaked into SQ2 and he does enough to be the last man into SQ3 too, edging Magnussen by 0.051s. His Haas team-mate Hulkenberg can also be aggrieved, as he's 0.076s down on Tsunoda's AlphaTauri.
Checkered flag
As the checkered flag comes out to end SQ2, Magnussen and Hulkenberg just miss out and are joined on the sidelines by Gasly, Bottas and Alonso. Aston's efforts to fix his car in time valiantly fell just short.
No is the answer, as several others around him improve. Norris briefly faced danger, but goes fastest ahead of Perez, Verstappen and Ricciardo.
Bottas moves into seventh ahead of Hulkenberg with his only timed run of the session. Will it be enough to see him through?
By: Autosport Staff
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