The Brazil Grand Prix Sprint saw McLaren make strategic moves to support Lando Norris’s position in the Drivers’ Championship as Oscar Piastri gave up the victory.
The McLarens began by holding their positions firmly, while Max Verstappen made an early attempt to challenge Charles Leclerc for third.
This battle between Verstappen and Leclerc allowed both McLarens to stay relatively comfortably ahead, while team discussions about swapping positions began over the radio. However, Oscar Piastri maintained his car in DRS range of Norris.
As the race progressed, Leclerc’s pace began to falter, enabling Verstappen to overtake him at Turn 4 on lap 18 with DRS along the outside line. Around the same time, McLaren informed Norris of a potential position swap later in the race. With Verstappen now in clear air, he quickly closed the gap to Norris, showcasing his surprising speed.
However, on lap 20, Nico Hülkenberg’s car stopped on track, prompting a yellow flag. Just before the virtual safety car two laps later, Piastri eventually let Norris pass. Although the green flag was waved before the final lap, Verstappen was unable to close the gap in time, leaving McLaren to secure an impressive one-two finish.
After the sprint, Piastri reflected on the challenging sessions, saying: “It was a bit tricky to be honest, very bumpy as we know; the the racing line was incredibly narrow. You missed it by a tyre width and you’re in all sorts of trouble.
“A great day for the team and a lot of points, so I think we learn a lot for the race tomorrow as well.”
As the qualifying session approaches ahead of tomorrow’s race, Piastri explained his optimism over the pace, despite his weariness over the Ferraris and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, adding: “Yeah, I think optimistic, I think the pace looked okay, but You know the Ferrari was very quick at the start and Max is very quick at the end.
“So yeah, let’s let’s see I think we’ve got a few things we want to try and improve a bit for qualifying this afternoon for the race tomorrow But I think we’re in decent shape”
