Everything could be assumed except that the Brazilian Grand Prix saw Kevin Magnussen with the Haas in pole position on Friday and an entirely Mercedes front row on the Sunday starting grid. The Brackley team took credit for the first win of the year, although the real ambition of the Anglo-German team is to get on the top step of the podium at the end of the Grand Prix. The W13 is increasingly a distant relative of the version of itself at the beginning of the season, both in performance and in the way in which it is achieved. Instead, Red Bull collapses which, net of the wrong tire choice, reveals a step not up to par with that expressed by the summer break onwards.
Already on Friday, Andrew Shovlin expressed the surprise at Mercedes at being competitive again in Brazil, a response contrary to the internal forecasts of the eve. Undoubtedly, the 1500 meters lower than in Mexico City have increased the density of the air, hiding to a lesser extent the high resistance to advancement, which remains one of the main limitations of the car, a factor that could lead to think of a Mercedes less brilliant than in Mexico. For a month now, however the W13 proves to be able to travel in line with Red Bull and Ferrari in all conditions and on any type of track, a sign of a team now aware of the particular set-up needs of the single-seater. Performance also benefited from the latest package of updates introduced across Austin and Mexico, with which aerodynamic corrections were made from the front wing to the bottom. San Paolo is also a complete track, where straight-line efficiency and aerodynamic balance along a wide range of curves, from high to low distances, are essential, a mix that highlights any short deck.
The technical potential inherent in the W13 has now reached a high level, but we cannot overlook how, in addition to the car, the team has also progressed in the tuning operations. In Brazil, the only free practice session before the entry into force of the Parc Fermé prevented the opponents, above all Red Bull, from refining an imperfect set-up and expressing their real potential, but even Mercedes itself had to make the accounts with less time available. It therefore becomes appropriate to remember how at the beginning of the year the Brackley team spent the test sessions carrying out experiments and changes without an apparent awareness of the line to follow, sometimes going so far as to make blind adjustments just before qualifying, to which the W13 responded. in a completely unpredictable way. The excellent potential expressed so far in Sao Paulo by Mercedes therefore takes on even more value, because in addition to the performance itself it tells of a team now in control of its own car and aware of its needs.
Max Verstappen passes under the checkered flag in fourth position. Red Bull’s choice of medium tire appears difficult to understand as already in the second free practice session, although not personally tested, it had shown signs of poor performance. Charles Leclerc himself had openly complained about it on the radio, a widespread perception shared by the whole line-up, so much so that Verstappen was the only one together with Latifi to start with the intermediate compound. The only possible interpretation is that it was an error of assessment or rather of presumption, counting on being able to defend against the pursuers even with a disadvantage compound and then having an additional train of new soft for the Grand Prix. In any case, without strategy, Brazil’s RB18 is not in its best shapeas confirmed by the world champion: “AI was experiencing an enormous deterioration, and this is not very positive ”. Sergio Perez in the final also lapped on higher times than Charles Leclerc, with the same soft tire, to underline a sub-optimal set-up. Our thoughts immediately turn to the shortcomings highlighted in free practice on Friday, when Verstappen complained of a strong understeer tendency especially at medium-low mileagepotentially attributable to the mechanical suspension set-up.
In alternating phases and in the rare conditions of a free track, both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc expressed times close to the Mercedes references, especially in the closing bars, although Hamilton was slowed down by the Spaniard himself. This increases the regret at Ferrari for the positions lost in qualifying, because with a Red Bull apparently the protagonist of a false step, the opportunities for victory were greedy. However, nothing is still undermined and, with a long and severe race for the tires, even from fifth position it will be possible to aim for the maximum result, as long as you have a good pace.
At the center of the group, Magnussen and Haas hit the target of converting pole position into a precious world championship point, doubling the league lead over AlphaTauri. Tomorrow the two teams will be called to head to head in the race, with Kevin starting in eighth position and just behind Gasly in tenth place. In the middle, Sebastian Vettel will start, who will have the opportunity to further erode Aston Martin’s four points behind Alfa Romeo. Instead, the weekend of the two Alpines starts uphill, chand will start from fifteenth and eighteenth position. The Sprint Race was the manifesto of the French manufacturer’s season, strong in the best car of the center-group and a couple of consistent drivers, but in constant regret for the points lost between reliability and accidents, such as today’s fratricidal struggle. McLaren for its part, excellent seventh with Norris, continues to maximize every result available and, in spite of a not irresistible MCL35, can now grab fourth place again in the world championship, five points away.
In conclusion, the race on Saturday in Sao Paulo highlighted once again a fundamental requirement for the success of the Sprint Race format. The presence of high tire degradation even on short distances represents that essential condition for inducing performance differences between the different cars, which when pushed to the maximum without management present minimal gaps, hindering overtaking. A high level of wear can also induce uncertainty in the compound to be adopted, differentiating strategies and leading some to make mistakes, such as the one committed by Red Bull with Max Verstappen. The ideal tracks to host the Sprint Race thus turn out to be Bahrain, Austin, Sao Paulo and with the current cars even Barcelona, where overtaking is no longer prohibitive. In a Formula 1 where the drift towards increasing Sprint Race seems unstoppable, the hope is that at least the appropriate locations are chosen.
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