The Return of the F1 Sprint
This weekend sees the return of the F1 Sprint. This means that qualifying is now going to take place on Friday with the Sprint coming in on Saturday. For people that don’t know what this format is about, it is basically a shorter race. Qualifying determines the grid for the Sprint whilst the finishing results in the sprint determine the starting grid for the race. The Sprint’s overall distance is a third of the main race and there are no mandatory pitstops. Also, the top 8 all score points with 8 points being awarded to the person who finishes in first all the way down to 1 point for 8th. I enjoy the sprint and it’s particularly good fun at Brazil.
Can Lewis finally get his win?
Lewis Hamilton has an 100% record when it comes to winning at least one race per season. However, that record looks to be ending unless he can pull out something special in the final two races of the season. It’s not out of the question though as he did just that last season. He went from 20th to 5th in the Sprint last season before he went from tenth to first in the main race. Lewis also now has a Brazilian citizenship so you know that the crowd are going to be behind him. If things go his way, there’s no reason why he can’t win this weekend.
Can Daniel Ricciardo build on his good performance in Mexico?
The Daniel Ricciardo that drove the last 25 laps in Mexico was the best Daniel Ricciardo I’ve seen in a while. Ricciardo flew up to P7 and the question is can he keep it up? So far this season, Ricciardo has only finished in the points in back-to-back races once. When Daniel’s had a good race, he’s tended to drop off a bit in the next one. Hopefully he won’t because it would be nice to see him have a good end to the season. Also, him performing well is massively important for McLaren’s fight with Alpine.
A potential race ban for Pierre Gasly?
Pierre Gasly comes into the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend with 10 penalty points to his name. If he receives two more, he will receive a race ban. He has picked up these penalties for multiple reasons, whether its for colliding with other drivers (usually Aston Martin’s) or speeding under Red Flag conditions. The biggest concern for Gasly is he has to survive until May before his penalty points get whipped away. If he’s going to get them, he should probably get them this weekend.
Red Bull looking for 10 in a row
Red Bull Racing are currently on a nine-race winning streak. 8 of them have gone to Max Verstappen whilst Sergio Perez picked up the win in Singapore. I’m almost certain that Red Bull will aim to qualify on pole, win the sprint and then win the main race. Also, even though Max Verstappen has broken the record for the most race wins in a season, he will still want to win in the final two races as it means he will have the highest winning percentage in a single season which really is incredible. I’d expect them to do it.
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