On Formula 1’s return to Brazil, Lewis Hamilton lived up to the Ayrton Senna tribute helmet by dominating throughout the Friday Qualifying session after securing pole position for the ‘Sprint Race’ on Saturday.
The ‘Sprint’ which, in case you have forgotten, decides the grid for the real show on Sunday.
Hamilton enjoyed one of his best days of the season, topping each of the three sessions with ease before achieving the pole by a large four tenths of a second. With the benefit of a new ICE unit in the back, which means he will be taking a five-place grid penalty on Sunday, nobody had an answer to the Brit.
Max Verstappen could not get within 0.438s of his title rival, but was able to pull out a lap in his seemingly difficult RB16B to secure a front row, making a tasty starting line up for the ‘Sprint’. The Dutchman will know that a second place finish on Saturday will see him start pole on what could prove to be a crucial Sunday.
The second row saw the counter parts of the drivers who line up at the front. Valtteri Bottas trailed Verstappen’s time by less then a tenth after a messy final lap saw him miss out on securing consecutive Mercedes front row lockouts. Sergio Perez found himself in a similar position, but trailed his teammate by just over a tenth, lining up behind Bottas in fourth.
That downside for Red Bull, apart from being battered by Hamilton, is the fact that both of their cars will start the ‘Sprint’ on the dirtier side of the grid.
Pierre Gasly continues reserving his fifth place, with another strong qualifying session that see’s him ahead of both Ferrari’s, despite not feeling 100% comfortable in his AlphaTauri machine, making his lap even better. Although Gasly managed to put a comfortable gap of two tenths between him and seventh placed Charles Leclerc, the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz managed to come just half a tenth short.
Ferrari are also continuing a recent trend by placing their cars ahead of the McLaren’s, as both papaya orange cars are left to look at the rear wings of Ferrari on the grid. Despite finding themselves down the order in practice, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo managed to get within a tenth of each other. The downside is that both cars trail the leaders by a full second.
Rounding out the top ten is Fernando Alonso, who allows the team formations to continue as Esteban Ocon becomes the first driver to miss out on a Q3 slot by, again, less then a tenth.
Aston Martin enjoyed a rather comfortable practice session, but could not convert – and not for the first time this season. Sebastian Vettel could only secure P12 but faired significantly better then Lance Stroll, who was left very frustrated after failing to qualify into the second qualifying session – finishing in 16th.
Yuki Tsunoda could not replicate the performances of his teammate, Gasly, and was left trailing by over half a second before qualifying in a lonely 13th.
Now, the team formations restart. Alfa Romeo were once again headed by the retiring Kimi Raikkonen, who comfortably led Antonio Giovinazzi by seven tenths of a second for 14th and 15th.
Now, perhaps the biggest news of the session. George Russell has finally been defeated in a Williams in one normal qualifying session. Nicholas Latifi holds 17th after overcoming Russell by 0.056s, even though the Canadian driver was not best pleased with his lap.
Now the Haas row. Again, Mick Schumacher leads Nikita Mazepin by two tenths of a second. The Russian driver felt that he had the potential to beat his teammate, before a lock up in the middle sector put an end to that – prompting an emotional driver.
The Motorsport Formula 