 Having seen the Alpines come together, the two Aston Martin racers almost collided when Lance Stroll defended very aggressively against Sebastian Vettel, pushing the German onto the grass. "Okay," was the curt message from Vettel over team radio, before he passed the Canadian cleanly on the next lap. That was when){kind=link}
Kevin Magnussen started the Sprint on pole after that shock result in qualifying, with Max Verstappen and George Russell breathing down his neck on the Sao Paulo grid
George Russell produced an excellent performance to win an F1 Sprint race for the first time â taking the lead after battling for several laps with Max Verstappen.
In truth, it was an afternoon to forget for Red Bull. Verstappen started poorly, rallied to take the lead â but after he was passed by Russell he picked up damage and slipped further back, meaning he will start further back than he would like on Sunday.
Red Bull’s loss was Mercedes’ gain, though. Russell’s victory was boosted by Lewis Hamilton finishing third, sandwiching Carlos Sainz and sending a message that the Silver Arrows will be a major force when it comes to Sunday’s main race â Russell and Hamilton will share the front row, given Sainz has a grid penalty for taking a new engine this weekend.
Pole-sitter Kevin Magnussen got an excellent start off the line while Verstappen behind him was sluggish. It meant the Haas racer led the first two laps, but eventually the speed difference between the cars told and soon the Red Bull driver had the lead.