Max Verstappen added to his tally of wins in the Sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, having taken P1 from Lando Norris off the line.
It was yet another race where it was over by turn one of the opening lap.
In a thrilling Sprint race marked by strategic tyre choices and intense on-track battles, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen emerged victorious, clinching his fourth Sprint win of the season. The electrifying race saw most of the grid, with notable exceptions being Logan Sargeant and the Haas duo, opting to commence the race on the soft tyres.
Lando Norris of McLaren initially led off the start, only to be overtaken by Verstappen in Turn 1. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who had swiftly taken P4 from Sergio Perez, was soon demoted by George Russell and the surging Perez. A promising start for the AlphaTauri duo ended in disappointment as the Ferrari drivers leapfrogged them, while Oscar Piastri endured an off-track excursion.
By the end of Lap 7, Verstappen, Norris, Russell, and Perez had staked a small lead, and a DRS train was forming behind them. Perez eventually finished third, after a tense face-off with Russell that saw several overtaking attempts. Concurrently, Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo were locked in a fierce battle for position P8, with Sainz ultimately triumphing.
Meanwhile, Norris was catching up to Verstappen, reducing the gap to 1.3 seconds by Lap 13. The Aston Martin drivers, Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel, were steadily progressing, with Stroll overtaking Esteban Ocon for P13.
However, the afternoon proved challenging for the Haas and Alpine teams, which fell to the back of the grid. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari managed to overtake Hamilton for P5, while Yuki Tsunoda tried unsuccessfully to follow suit. Ricciardo, however, managed to overtake Piastri for P9.
As the race drew to a close, Verstappen maintained his lead, crossing the line ahead of Norris and Perez. Leclerc finished fifth, followed closely by Tsunoda, Hamilton, and Sainz. Ricciardo and Piastri completed the top ten, with the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Stroll finishing 11th and 12th, respectively.
In a closing note, Kevin Magnussen took P16, while Zhou Guanyu, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, and Sargeant completed the order from 17th to 20th, respectively.
