For the second time in just a couple of weeks, Sprint Qualifying took place on a Friday Night, this time around the brilliant Interlagos!
SQ1
In Sprint Qualifying 1; Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, and Zhou Guanyu were the five slowest drivers! Fernando Alonso continued his woes in the Sprint Format with an SQ1 exit whilst Esteban Ocon will be very disappointed to be down in P17! Yuki Tsunoda had a bit of a shocker to be down in 18th, as did Lance Stroll who confirmed Aston Martin’s lack of pace whilst Zhou Guanyu was slowest as per usual! McLaren’s Lando Norris topped SQ1 by nearly 8 tenths of a second to his teammate Oscar Piastri!
SQ2
In Sprint Qualifying 2; Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez, Franco Colapinto, and Valtteri Bottas all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout! Lewis Hamilton once again struggled for pace in Qualifying as he failed to reach SQ3 whilst Nico Hulkenberg will probably be slightly disappointed with 12th (which in itself tells you how much Haas have improved)! After not getting around to start his final lap, Sergio Perez had to settle for P13 which simply isn’t good enough whilst Franco Colapinto came home in 14th, ahead of Valtteri Bottas who did well to get to advance in his Kick Sauber! It was once again a McLaren 1-2 in SQ2, with Norris still a couple of tenths ahead of Piastri!
SQ3
In Sprint Qualifying 3, a superb 1:08.899 was enough for Oscar Piastri to take a terrific, but also surprising Sprint Pole! Still, Oscar absolutely nailed his lap, and fully merits starting the Sprint from the front! Lando Norris will have to settle for P2 despite looking the quickest all day whilst Charles Leclerc can be pleased with P3! Max Verstappen could only manage 4th, ahead of the always consistent Carlos Sainz whilst George Russell will start 6th for Mercedes! Pierre Gasly did a sensational job to get P7 for Alpine, as did Liam Lawson who deserves a massive round of applause, whilst Alex Albon will start 9th for Williams, ahead of Ollie Bearman who did a great job to make it into SQ3, but kind of messed it up at the end!
Starting Grid for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint and My Sprint Qualifying Grades
Oscar Piastri: 10
Lando Norris: 9
Charles Leclerc: 8
Max Verstappen: 8
Carlos Sainz: 7
George Russell: 7
Pierre Gasly: 10
Liam Lawson: 10
Alex Albon: 9
Oliver Bearman: 8
Lewis Hamilton: 3
Nico Hulkenberg: 6
Sergio Perez: 3
Franco Colapinto: 4
Valtteri Bottas: 6
Fernando Alonso: 2
Esteban Ocon: 2
Yuki Tsunoda: 1
Lance Stroll: 1
Zhou Guanyu: 1
Credit: Speedcafe.com
My Predictions for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint
Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris
Max Verstappen
Carlos Sainz
Charles Leclerc
Comments