Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) today won the sprint race of the Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix, held in São Paulo, by beating Lando Norris, who had started from pole position.
Verstappen had been champion since Qatar and completed the 24 laps in 30.07.209 minutes, leaving Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) 4.387 seconds behind. The Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) came third, at 13.617.
It was the fourth victory in six sprint races this season for Max Verstappen, who has already won in Austria, Belgium and the United States – Sergio Pérez won in Azerbaijan and Óscar Piastri (McLaren) in Qatar.
From second position, behind Norris, the Dutchman reacted faster to the traffic lights and used the power of his single-seater to reach the first corner first.
George Russell, who passed Pérez at the start, overtook Norris to move into second place and served as a buffer for the leader, who opened up a lead of almost two seconds.
Norris would regain second place, as would Pérez third, while the Mercedes dropped in the standings.
Russell decided to settle for fourth place, ahead of Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).
Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) took advantage of the lower competitiveness of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) to reach sixth place and also added two points ahead of the seven-time world champion. Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) added the last available point in eighth place.
Also notable is the 11th place of Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who started from 15th place after being hit by Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) in qualifying for this sprint.
With these results, Verstappen achieved 499 points, against the 246 of Pérez, who is second.
The main race of the Brazilian GP will take place on Sunday, the 19th race of the season, with Max Verstappen starting from pole position.
Source: DN
