Sao Paulo GP sprint: Lando Norris wins after McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastre drops position, Max Verstappen takes fourth | F1 news

Oscar Piastri allowed title contender Lando Norris to win the sprint to give his McLaren team-mate a potentially crucial extra point in his championship chase against Max Verstappen at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Verstappen finished third on the track after a late pass by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but was two hours after the stewards gave him a five-second penalty for a Virtual Safety Car violation on the last lap when running too fast behind Piastri.

Norris’ first-ever sprint victory and Verstappen’s loss of a place mean the Briton has cut his Red Bull drivers’ championship lead by three to 44 points ahead of Sunday’s main event, which earns the Dutchman five points on the grid. to replace the engine.

Suggesting after qualifying ahead of Norris in the sprint that he was ready to concede Saturday’s victory to his team-mate, Piastre led the opening 21 laps of the race before duly passing the Briton right down the back of Interlagos in a choreographed change of position. overseen by the McLaren pit wall.

“Not proud of it, but we worked well together as a team, so I thank Oscar,” Norris said afterwards.

“We did a great job as a team. Today was the result we wanted. Oscar deserved it, but we did what we had to do.”

Shortly before that switch, Verstappen began to look as if he could threaten Norris’ second place and McLaren’s one-two, overtaking Leclerc at turn four on lap 18 after a long pursuit of the Ferrari driver finally paid off.

Norris soon took the lead and Verstappen finished on Piastre’s tail for second.

However, the Dutchman lost this third place in the stewards’ investigation the day before main qualification at 18:00, live broadcast Sky Sports F1due to a Virtual Safety Car infringement which saw the Red Bull driver fail to meet the required minimum lap time as he prepared to restart the race on the final lap, running close behind the second McLaren.

Verstappen was partially level with Piastri before turn four just as the scrutineering period was ready to end, and although he dropped back and did not overtake after the end of the VSC a few seconds later, the stewards ruled that “this is an infringement and a standard penalty” . is used for the advantage obtained at that time”.

Under the VSC system, which was called in here when Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas came to rest in a dangerous position on the side of the track, drivers must not overtake and must adhere to a set driving time designed to maintain gaps between cars. as they were before the warning period, without the need to deploy a full physical safety car before racing resumed.

Leclerc finished five seconds behind Verstappen, so he was promoted to third after a stewards’ penalty.

Although the Ferrari’s speed in the latter races was not as expected, at least in the short 24-lap sprint, Carlos Sainz was fifth in the sister car and George Russell sixth in the leading Mercedes.

Pierre Gasly held on to his seventh position on the grid to give Alpine two crucial extra points amid their disappointing season, while Sergio Perez finally had something to smile about in the second Red Bull as he raced successfully from 13th to the final sprint point at eighth place

Perez’s recovery from the disappointment of sprint qualifying included a move to RB Liam Lawson in first place a week after the pair had a heated battle at the track in Mexico.

Lewis Hamilton finished where he qualified – 11th – after a poor start that saw him lose the top positions, and the Mercedes driver will now hope for the best as attention turns to the main Grand Prix.

How McLaren just decided to properly prioritize Norris and provide a one-two

From his impressive pole position, Piastre closed on Norris at the start, cutting left to go across the front of his team-mate and, whether pre-arranged coordination or not, the McLarens successfully maintained their one-two scheme in the often dramatic debut. Circle in Interlagos.

The same was true for Leclerc and Verstappen, who finished third and fourth respectively, although Red Bull briefly sensed a chance for the inside on the Ferrari at Turn One before locking up the brakes and losing a spin to the Senna S.

After running within one second DRS of his team-mate on lap six, Norris told the pitwave over the team radio that “I’m close”, to which his engineer replied “we understand, just keep an eye on Leclerc behind”. .

One lap later, Norris came back over the radio in a confused voice and said, “I’m not sure what I’m doing here, mate. We talked about it before.”

But with McLaren unable to shake off Ferrari and Red Bull behind, who were running in increasingly close company with Verstappen appearing to have more pace, and then Norris making a small mistake himself, the Briton’s race engineer Will Joseph said they would wait to make a switch on the last lap.

As it turned out, when Hulkenberg crashed out on lap 21 and parked in a position that could have threatened the safety car – and therefore overtaking was banned – McLaren took their chance at the start of lap 22 to change their driver order, with Verstappen now in second a spot just outside DRS as Piastre let off the gas on the back straight and Norris swept past.

“We were watching the gap between Leclerc and Verstappen to see if we could make an easy pass between Lando and Oscar, but in reality the gap never materialized so we had to watch for a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car,” he explained. McLaren team boss Andrea Stella Sky Sports F1.

“Actually, it came about because of an incident with a car stalling on the track, so we implemented it immediately. It was well done by the team, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the coordinated work of both pilots.

“We’re certainly very pleased with the conversations that are happening right now and the support that Oscar is giving Lando. This is the best result we could get for both championships.”

In addition to a small final boost to Norris’ hopes of catching Verstappen in the four grands prix and one extra sprint remaining in 2024, McLaren extended their lead over Ferrari to 34 points and defending champions Red Bull to a mighty 63 points. , in their bid to win their first Constructors’ Championship title since 1998.

Sky Sports F1 live schedule of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Saturday, November 2
17:00: Qualifying meeting in Sao Paulo
18:00: Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix
20:00: Ted’s qualification workbook

Sunday, November 3
3:30 p.m.: Sunday’s Grand Prix: Roundup of the São Paulo Grand Prix
17:00: GRAND PRIX OF SAO PAULO
7:00 p.m.: Checkered flag: São Paulo Grand Prix reaction
8:00 p.m.: Ted’s Notebook

Formula 1’s triple-header in the Americas will conclude this weekend with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with every session broadcast on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month subscription – no contract, cancel anytime