Sao Paulo Grand Prix - Sprint race: Instructions benefit Lando Norris

He was incisive at the first corner, but his maneuver did not work. Max Verstappen tried to take third place after a rather aggressive start, but he did not manage to pass. The two McLarens came out of the first sector in the same order as at the start.

Charles Leclerc was under pressure from the Dutchman. Despite the DRS, the triple world champion was unable to overtake the Ferrari in his first attempts. His engineer advised him not to rush too much. Especially since he, like the Monegasque, was catching up with the McLarens ahead.

Radio exchanges

Lando Norris believed he was faster than his teammate and asked several times to swap positions. But Oscar Piastri managed his efforts, even relegating the British driver out of the DRS zone.

Much further back, Sergio Perez took advantage of a battle between the two Haas drivers to get the better of Nico Hülkenberg and climb into the Top 10. Meanwhile, McLaren asked Oscar Piastri to slow down a bit to offer DRS to his teammate. This message had a purpose: to ensure safety for the British driver against Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, who were very close.

Engine problem for Nico Hülkenberg

A slight mistake by driver #16 allowed the McLarens to gain some ground. This provided an additional break for Max Verstappen's rival. The race was very quiet on all levels. No major attacks to report. Lewis Hamilton was stuck behind the Williams for a long time, far from the points zone. He finally overtook Colapinto after a scare from the Argentine.

On the 18th lap, Charles Leclerc lost his position to Max Verstappen at the fourth turn. Up front, McLaren engineers exchanged to discuss which strategy to adopt. Oscar Piastri was asked to step aside on the last lap.

Towards the end of the sprint race, Nico Hülkenberg experienced an engine problem. He had to pull over to the side of the track. The yellow flag was out. With the risk of a safety car, the McLaren drivers swapped positions. It wasn't an ideal situation as the Red Bull closed to within three tenths of the papaya car. But a virtual safety car saved the skin of the team based in Woking.

This procedure came to an end in the last lap. Max Vertappen was very threatening on car #81 and almost overtook it, still under virtual safety car conditions. He finally thwarted his attempt. Up front, Lando Norris emerged victorious.