Valtteri Bottas stayed in the first position of the sprint race held at Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Brazil. The Finnish driver managed to secure three points after overtaking Max Verstappen in the first curve of the race. The Dutch driver from Red Bull scored two points for the championship, while the Spanish Carlos Sainz from Ferrari took one point after finishing third.
After the competition, the Mercedes driver highlighted the team's strategy of using the red tires for this race. "We knew that the 'soft' tires would be an advantage at the start and it worked, and then it was about surviving until the end. I'm glad it worked perfectly!", Bottas said in an interview for F1.
Exact moment when Bottas overtakes Verstappen. Photo: EFE.
Verstappen also analyzed Saturday's competition and acknowledged that he didn't have his best start despite finishing second. "The start wasn't the best. I think our pace was quite good, but sometimes here you just can't overtake. We'll try again tomorrow!", he commented.
You can see: Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in the qualifying session of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
As a reminder, Lewis Hamilton had finished in first place in the qualifying session and was supposed to start in first place in this short race, but the International Automobile Federation (FIA) penalized him before the competition for an infringement related to the DRS (rear wing mobile). That's why the Mercedes driver started in last place in this race, although that didn't stop him from finishing fifth in the standings.
Likewise, the British driver will start in tenth place in the Grand Prix, due to a penalty imposed last Friday, which is related to changes with his engine.
This is how the Sprint classification ended. Hamilton will start in tenth place due to a penalty. Photo: F1.