Lewis Hamilton raises his head: the seven-time world champion was the only driver to break the 1’08 “wall with a time of 1’07” 934. The Englishman has mounted a fresh engine (it is the fifth of the season and will cost him five positions at the start of Sunday’s race) capable of reaching 4 km / h more than the sister unit of Valtteri Bottas. Engineers from Brixworth are sure to take advantage of the high speed on the straights of the W12 to put world leader Max Verstappen in trouble.
Mercedes wanted to flex their muscles in the flying lap, so tomorrow Lewis will be at the post at the start of the Sprint Qualifying, but the epta champion has to deal with the Dutchman who changes his attitude in the race and will not have the submissive role he has. shown in Q3: the gap of 438 thousandths is enormous, but we will not see it again tomorrow in the 100 km race which can be worth three championship points.
Hamilton, supported by a good black arrow also in terms of set-up, will not be able to count the 102nd pole position of his career after qualifying, but if he aspires to reopen the fight for the title he is called to win it tomorrow in the race.
Verstappen will find himself in the grip of two W12s because in third place is Valtteri Bottas who managed to get the better of Sergio Perez with a kidney shot that created a difference of just 14 thousandths of a second.
As in Mexico, qualifying goes in the direction of Mercedes but it will be again the departure that will establish the hierarchies of the race. Max can also be content to leave a point to his rival, avoiding the troubles of a contact, then counting on the fact that Lewis on Sunday will have to slide five squares further back and the orange will have the winning card in his hand.
Behind the top teams the position of Pierre Gasly, subscriber in fourth place with the AlphaTauri is consolidated. The team from Faenza is capitalizing on the potential of the AT02 and the consistency of a driver who never misses a beat: it is not surprising to see the transalpine again ahead of the Ferraris.
Carlos Sainz is in great shape: the Spaniard is sixth ahead of Charles Leclerc a little more bungled. The Monegasque had to spend an extra train in Q1 after having had his time canceled due to a track limit at turn 4, so Leclerc found himself in Q3 with the possibility of only trying one shot with the new tire.
The Cavallino team, however, put two cars ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo who, after doing pre-tactics in free practice avoiding the use of the soft compound, came out into the open. The Maranello simulation said that the MCL35 Ms could be ahead in Brazil: so far this has not been the case and suggests that Ferrari can extend the advantage over the team from Woking.
Excellent also the “old man” Fernando Alonso who collects the most from the Alpine with a tenth position which represents the current value of the car. The A521 is not that great and the AlphaTauri’s threat in the challenge for fifth place in the Constructors’ World Championship is becoming very realistic, after the engagement in the standings in Mexico.
Esteban Ocon remains out of the Top-10 with Alpine: the Frenchman was out for 52 thousandths of a second from his teammate. Sebastian Vettel took Aston Martin to 12th place, getting the most out of an AMR21 that doesn’t seem to fit this fast track.
Yuki Tsunoda did not shine in the single lap with the AlphaTauri: the Japanese did not capitalize on the positive work done in free practice and must be satisfied with 13th place. The two Alfa Romeos are continuing with Kimi Raikkonen 14th able to stay ahead of the jubilant Antonio Giovinazzi: the Italian made a mistake in the last run and aborted what should have been the good lap.
Lance Stroll does not come out of Q1 with Aston Martin: the Canadian is the illustrious excluded of the first timed session. The “verdona” did not seem particularly competitive on the fast corners of Interlagos, to the point that the two Williams FW43Bs, with the same Mercedes engine, are only a couple of tenths apart.
The news in the Grove team is that Nicholas Latifi finished 17th, ahead of the most famous teammate George Russell, a sign that the superiority shown by the Canadian this morning was not accidental, but the result of a good feeling with the track.
The last row belongs to the Haas: the gap between Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher has been significantly reduced. The Russian, after a sbisciolata at turn 4 in which he had the readiness to control the risky pendulum, managed to contain the gap from the German by a couple of tenths, while in the only free session there was an abyss.
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