Sao Paulo Grand Prix – Qualifications: Hamilton regains the throne

For the third time this season, Formula 1 adopted the new sprint qualifying format. A format that was even more stressful for Ferrari, McLaren, Haas, and Alfa Romeo, who received the parts for their cars very late on Thursday, which forced the mechanics to work all night.

Q1:

From the first qualifying session, the battle for pole position was shaping up to be exciting between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Red Bull momentarily appeared as the fastest cars before the Mercedes came to unsettle them, with Verstappen and Perez respectively trailing Hamilton by 5 and 7 tenths with 10 minutes remaining.

After suffering under the yoke of Red Bull during Free Practice 1, Mercedes seems to have found solutions to make its car work better.

It was a complicated start to the session for Charles Leclerc who struggled to put a lap together. With 2 minutes remaining in the session, the Monegasque was 1.7 seconds behind his teammate. It was only on his third attempt that he managed to get closer to his garage mate and secure 3rd position.

For the first time in his career, Nicholas Latifi outqualified his teammate. A real achievement for the Canadian who has always been overshadowed by Russell since the beginning of their partnership in 2020. Unfortunately, it was not enough to advance to Q2.

List of eliminated drivers in Q1: Lance Stroll (16th), Nicholas Latifi (17th), George Russell (18th), Mick Schumacher (19th), and Nikita Mazepin (20th)

Q2:

From his first lap in Q2, Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton’s reference time in Q1. A 1’08’567 that showed the German team that Red Bull had not fallen asleep.

A good move by the Dutchman, but it was not enough to discourage Lewis Hamilton who responded with a 1’08’386.

After a great Q1 from Yuki Tsunoda, where he recorded the 9th best time, just 3 thousandths behind his teammate Pierre Gasly, the Japanese driver was unable to repeat this performance and was eliminated in 13th position.

Disappointment also for Esteban Ocon who didn’t manage to keep up with Fernando Alonso in Q3.

List of eliminated in Q2: Esteban Ocon (11th), Sebastian Vettel (12th), Yuki Tsunoda (13th), Kimi Räikkönen (14th), and Antonio Giovinazzi (15th).

Q3:

Lewis Hamilton set a superb first lap in this final part of qualifying. A 1’08’107 that allowed him to relegate Max Verstappen to almost 3 tenths.

As the Dutchman failed to improve his lap time, the British driver stunned his rival with a 1’07.934. An excellent qualifying session from the seven-time world champion who was on another level in Q3 compared to his competitors.

A good operation for tomorrow from Lewis Hamilton, but with the sprint qualifying and his 5-place penalty, nothing guarantees him a good position on the grid Sunday evening.

Also worth noting is the great performance of Pierre Gasly, who, for the second consecutive weekend, qualifies as the best of the rest in 5th position. After his podium in 2019, the Norman driver confirms his good form at Interlagos.