For the final time in 2023, the Sprint Shootout took place to set the Grid for the Sao Paulo Sprint.
SQ1
In Sprint Qualifying 1; Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Zhou Guanyu, Alex Albon, and Logan Sargeant were the five slowest drivers. Esteban Ocon made an error in the Senna S’ before he collided with Fernando Alonso which brought out the Red Flag. This incident was 100% Esteban’s fault. This Red Flag caught out Lance Stroll who will be very disappointed with just P17 whilst Zhou Guanyu could only manage P18 for Alfa Romeo. Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant were the two slowest men in the Sprint Shootout today which is a pretty disastrous result for Williams. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz topped SQ1 by just 28 thousandths (of a second) to McLaren’s Lando Norris.
SQ2
In Sprint Qualifying 2; Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas, and Fernando Alonso all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout. Kevin Magnussen should be happy with P11 as he outqualified his Haas teammate Nico Hulkenberg whilst Pierre Gasly could only manage 13th in his Alpine. Valtteri Bottas will start today’s Sprint Race from P14 whilst Fernando Alonso was unable to get a lap on the board in SQ2 after the damage he sustained in his incident with Esteban Ocon in the first part of the Sprint Shootout. Lando Norris topped SQ2 by just 9 thousandths (of a second) to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
SQ3
In Sprint Qualifying 3; a 1:10.622 was enough for Lando Norris to take his first-ever Pole Position in the Sprint Shootout. Lando’s lap was terrific and he’ll look to convert it into his “first-ever victory” later on today. Max Verstappen will have to settle for P2 on the Grid for the Sao Paulo Sprint whilst Sergio Perez will start third after a really impressive lap on an old set of Softs. George Russell outqualified Lewis Hamilton in the battle between the two Mercedes whilst Yuki Tsunoda will start 6th on the Grid after a terrific lap. Charles Leclerc could only manage 7th ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Daniel Ricciardo (who will be slightly disappointed) whilst Carlos Sainz will start ahead of Oscar Piastri after both drivers had to do their one and only lap on a used set of Tyres.
Starting Grid for the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint and My Sprint Shootout Grades
Lando Norris: 10
Max Verstappen: 9
Sergio Perez: 9
George Russell: 8
Lewis Hamilton: 7
Yuki Tsunoda: 10
Charles Leclerc: 5
Daniel Ricciardo: 8
Carlos Sainz: 4
Oscar Piastri: 4
Kevin Magnussen: 7
Nico Hulkenberg: 6
Pierre Gasly: 3
Valtteri Bottas: 5
Fernando Alonso: -
Esteban Ocon: 1
Lance Stroll: 2
Zhou Guanyu: 2
Alex Albon: 2
Logan Sargeant: 1
My Predictions for the 2023 Sao Paulo Sprint
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez
Lando Norris
George Russell
Lewis Hamilton
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