Max Verstappen will be aiming for his 17th victory of the season at Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver has already won this year’s Drivers’ Championship title following another dominant season on the track and will start the Sao Paulo race from pole position ahead of Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc and Aston Martin star Lance Stroll.
Verstappen bagged more points on Saturday when he won the Sprint race in Brazil, with his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez finishing directly behind McLaren genius Lando Norris.
Verstappen may be enjoying his weekend in Brazil on the track after success in the Friday and Saturday sessions, but he is certainly not happy with the latest F1 rule change.
Ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, drivers were told they had been banned from driving slowly or stopping the car in the fast lane of the pit lane. But the Dutchman has labelled the decision “absolutely terrible”, and says the change is “extremely dangerous”.
Meanwhile, Perez has been assured by Red Bull chief Christian Horner that he will retain his F1 seat with the Austrian team next season despite coming under fire for some of his displays this year. “The clear intention is that he will continue here”, Horner said.
in 8 hours11:55 Tom Parsons
Perez calls for Sprint change
Red Bull struggler Sergio Perez has called for a major change to the Grand Prix Sprint format after finishing third in Saturday’s race in Brazil. Perez, who has struggled for form in recent times and has won just four Grands Prix over the last two years, says it would be “interesting” to start Sprint races with a reverse grid.
“I think if they want to keep this format of the Sprint races, we’ve got to change it,” Perez told reporters on Saturday. “I would propose a reverse grid, something that can make it more interesting for the fans because I don’t think it’s doing what we want to achieve.
“Nothing really happens in this sort of race. I think [a reversed grid] will mix up things and create more opportunities, a lot more overtaking. If we want to keep this format, [we should] give it a go on something quite different, because I think for the last two years this sort of event hasn’t brought a lot of good racing.”
in 7 hours11:00 Tom Parsons
Verstappen explains Red Bull advantage
Red Rull star Max Verstappen has explained that he was able to win the Sprint race in Brazil on Saturday because he managed tyre degradation better than his rivals. The Dutchman, who started from second, ultimately finished with a with a 4.287 second buffer to second place Lando Norris.
“It was important to try and get ahead at the start,” he said after the race. “I think the initial launch wasn’t, let’s say amazing, but the second part of the start was very good, so we got alongside. Then it was all about management. Here at this track, there is a lot of deg, the tyres are wearing a lot – 24 laps on one tyre set is very long. I was just trying to maintain a constant lap time and I think we managed the race quite well out there today.
“Last year was very difficult for us around here, so today was much better, but still I think for everyone out there, you can’t push flat out. It’s all just about keeping the tyres under control and I think we did that well today.”
in 6 hours10:03 Tom Parsons
Red Bull aiming for F1 history
Red Bull are hoping to venture into uncharted territory in F1 history today.
Max Verstappen’s triumph in Mexico last time out means he has now won 17 of the 20 races this season, eclipsing the record 16 he won last year. Red Bull are also now on the cusp of setting a new points record for an F1 team as they have 731 points with three races remaining. The current record for a single season is the 765 points Mercedes secured during the 2016 campaign, where Lewis Hamilton narrowly missed out on his fourth F1 title to team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Verstappen himself also has something to play for, as he is only nine points away from becoming the first driver to reach the 500-point mark.
in 5 hours09:01 Tom Parsons
Hamilton makes worrying prediction
Lewis Hamilton has predicted a “long afternoon” at the Brazilian Grand Prix today after he was forced to settle for an underwhelming P7 finish in Saturday’s Sprint race.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about his struggles, Hamilton said: “It was horrible. It was not enjoyable whatsoever. I had a good start and then after that just struggled with the balance. A lot of understeer, then snap oversteer, and I was just fighting the car from very early on. Then I had no tyres in the end. I don’t really know how I’m going to fix that for tomorrow.”
Hamilton was then asked what could be possible for himself and his team in the main race. And he replied: “It’s going to be a long afternoon, that’s for sure. I can only assume I’ve got the setup wrong. It is what it is.”
