McLaren will have its two drivers on the front row of the grid for the São Paulo GP sprint race, this Saturday (2), at 11am, in Interlagos. Australian Oscar Piastri was the fastest in this Friday’s classification (1) and Englishman Lando Norris recorded the second fastest time.
Charles Leclerc, from Ferrari, and Max Verstappen, from Red Bull, in third and fourth respectively, complete the first two rows.
Sprint qualifying was marked by strong winds and a constant threat of rain, which seemed to get closer with each lap, but did not reach the circuit. There was also a great balance between the teams, which generated surprises, such as the elimination of Lewis Hamilton, from Mercedes, in Q2. He will start in 11th.
The São Paulo stage will be the penultimate sprint race of the year. After the dispute in Interlagos, only the Qatar GP will have this type of race in 2024. It is worth remembering that the top eight in the sprint score points. The winner of the race will receive eight points, while the eighth will receive one.
Also this Saturday (2), in the afternoon, classification for Sunday’s race takes place. The fight for pole will begin at 3pm (Brasília time). The start of the race will be at 2pm.
F1 has Dutchman Max Verstappen in the lead, with 362 points. In second comes Lando Norris, with 315. Therefore, the Brazilian stage is considered essential to keep the championship open as there will only be three more races left afterwards.
In the Brazilian stage, the season leader will have to serve a punishment, as he had to change a component of his engine for the sixth time. As a result, he will lose five positions on the starting grid of the main race.
In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren leads with 566, with Ferrari second (537) and Red Bull third (512).
Despite Verstappen’s leadership among the drivers, the Austrian team should not take the title among the teams this time because of the poor performance of Mexican Sérgio Pérez, only eighth in the World Championship.
