Hold on, curves are coming. The ‘Eses de Senna’, in particular, that legendary variant for its slope and authenticity with which the José Carlos Pace Autodrome opens its mouth, because there Hamilton and Verstappen have been cited once again, in that order, for the ‘F1 Sprint ‘that this Saturday (4:30 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. CET) will distribute six points and decide the Sunday grid. A turn in the eyes of Ayrton that has decided championships. There are reasons to get worse: in the two sprints held in 2021, at Silverstone and Monza, Max overtook Lewis and won; in the two subsequent races, they both collided. Heating up on Saturdays has consequences on Sunday. And this duel for the title comes hot, by default.
Hamilton prevailed with authority in the classification on Friday that grants this kind of ‘prepole’, he surpassed Verstappen by four painful tenths and the Dutchman did not give the feeling of having room for maneuver with respect to Bottas or Pérez, third and fourth respectively. However, there is a relevant factor: Mercedes replaced the English combustion engine in exchange for five seats penalty on Sunday. Officially, they want maximum performance in the last four races of the year. In fact, they suffer from reliability and Honda has beaten them that phase of the game. Lewis goes for fifth engine, Max has four to spare.
The gunmen’s duel on a dog’s day from Sao Paulo had other stories as well: Sainz beat Leclerc, with Mexico’s positional dancing still fresh, but Gasly was again ahead of the two Ferraris. It is becoming a constant for Alpha Tauri’s French to sneak into previously exclusive parties for Italians or McLaren, because that car has a lot of Red Bull, and a lot of Honda, and its improvement is a direct consequence of the ideas that also make the RB16B stand out. Too bad, because there are points escaping, and who knows if there are podium opportunities for the Madrid native.
Alonso returns to Q3
Alonso closed the top-10 after reaching Q3 with little margin, but the Alpine at least defends itself with honor on a circuit that always generates good memories for the Spanish fan. The Asturian will start just ahead of Ocon, that he was eliminated in the middle round, and the spotlight is now on him: Fernando starred in a memorable show at the Great Britain sprint, overtaking six cars in one lap, and also gained positions in Italy.
It is a format that benefits the hardened, the ‘carreristas’ like the two-time Spanish champion, especially when they have little or nothing to lose. Sainz did not do particularly well: a touch at Silverstone and a funnel at Monza they made him lose positions. Verstappen yes, although the next day everything was blown up. The sprint is not a qualifying race, it is a ‘weigh-in’ with live fire. In such a tight season every first stop is decisive. Curves are coming …
#High #tension #braking