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Off-track technical breaches, fines and grid penalties among the championship protagonists have dominated the headlines coming into race day of the São Paulo Grand Prix, but it’s time to go racing proper. Join in the conversation on The Roar for the Formula One action with live blog updates from 3:50am (AEST).
A year out of the schedule, the 4.3km Interlagos circuit is another welcome return to Formula One and is set to deliver defining race in the title fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
21-points is the advantage now for Verstappen over Hamilton, courtesy of his second place in the Saturday Sprint which set the grid for the 71-lap Grand Prix to come.
The Dutchman also copped a 50,000 Euro fine for touching Hamilton’s rear wing in Parc Ferme – which itself was found to have breached technical regulations and earnt Hamilton a disqualification heading into the sprint.
Hamilton, also carrying a five-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix following another change of internal combustion engine, did charge up to fifth from the back of the grid in the sprint to be only starting tenth.
In the two previous Grands Prix that proceeded sprints in 2021, both title rivals have had flashpoint incidents with Verstappen on both occasions coming worse off, scoring no points at Silverstone and Monza.
Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas starts from pole position, having won the sprint ahead of Verstappen. Though from tenth, eyes will be on Hamilton and his race-specific setup – as he still can very much win this race.
A free choice of starting tyre as well for the top ten starters may see Red Bull and Verstappen opt for the aggressive and start on the soft tyre. In the sprint, it did give the advantage off the line to Bottas and third-placed Carlos Sainz.
Sainz too heads up the Ferrari/McLaren fight for third in the constructor’s championship, with former teammate Lando Norris sandwiched between him and Charles Leclerc. Daniel Ricciardo was one of the losers in the sprint, dropping down to 11th.
Every point matters now heading into the final four rounds of the championship, whether the fight is among the title protagonists or elsewhere in the constructor’s standings. A race like Brazil in the past has shown to provide those clutch moments.
Join in the conversation on The Roar for the São Paulo Grand Prix, with live blog updates from 3:50 am AEST to see the next instalment of this immensely satisfying 2021 Formula One world championship.
Lights out: 4am (AEST)
Venue: Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil
TV: Fox Sports
Online: Kayo Sports, Foxtel
1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 5. Lando Norris (McLaren), 6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 7. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), 8. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin). 10. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 11. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), 12. Fernando Alonso (Alpine), 13. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), 14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 15. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), 16. Nicholas Latifi (Williams), 17. George Russell (Williams), 18. Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo), 19. Mick Schumacher (Haas), 20. Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
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