After Oscar Piastri’s surprise Sprint pole ahead of Lando
Norris in Brazil, the big debate that always happens when the Australian
finishes ahead of the Briton in qualifying is reopened: will McLaren apply team
orders to help Norris in his Drivers’ Championship fight against Max
Verstappen? And another big question: can the Dutchman hold off Ferrari’s pace
in the race?
We have predicted the top 10 positions for the Brazilian GP
sprint race, and encourage you, our readers, to make your own predictions for
Saturday’s race as well. And don’t forget, it’s only the top eight drivers who
score points in the Sprint race format…
Brazilian GP Sprint Race: Top 10 Predictions
10. Liam Lawson
F1’s new “bad boy” is coming on strong on and off the track.
With a great result in the Sprint Qualifying, Lawson will start P8 but will
have some tough rivals to fight with to try and fight for points in the Sprint
race in Brazil.
9. Pierre Gasly
Once again, great qualifying with a P7 finish from the
French driver who is putting the Alpine very high in these sessions lately.
Despite the fact that, unlike teams like Williams or Ferrari, the race pace is
the weak point of the Enstone based team’s car, in FP1 it seemed solid despite
completing a very short stint.
In a Sprint race with fewer laps Gasly should have the
opportunity to fight head to head with Haas, Alexander Albon and Liam Lawson.
This fight is sure to be one of the hot points of an intriguing 24 laps at
Interlagos.
8. Oliver Bearman
After not having a time set in SQ3 due to a lap being
deleted for exceeding track limits that would have seen him qualify P8, the
Haas car is showing incredible pace this weekend.
Bearman also seems to be making the most of his opportunity
with an ill Kevin Magnussen out for the remainder of the weekend. Therefore,
the final points position awarded in this format would certainly be a great
reward for his quick and great adaptation.
7. Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton will have to push hard to reach the points in the
Sprint race. This may work against him in tyre management, which Mercedes has
struggled with recently, but the performance gap to his rivals, even if Haas
looks solid, should see him reach P7 in 24 laps at best. It won’t be easy,
though.
6. George Russell
Once again Russell was superior to Hamilton in a qualifying
session. And although in the race Hamilton always has more pace than him, after
Lewis’ poor Sprint qualifying, the short race should be a quiet one as the W15
doesn’t have the pace to fight the top 3, but is always a step ahead of the
midfield. He will start P6 and we think he will also finish P6.
5. Max Verstappen
Verstappen will have to hold off Carlos Sainz and the Ferrari’s ferocious race pace if he wants to maintain the P4 achieved in Sprint Qualifying and even challenge for the podium.
.webp)
