F1 Brazil Grand Prix live updates: Norris wins sprint race ahead of Antonelli after Piastri crash – The New York Times

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The Formula One action continues today at the Brazil Grand Prix as the sprint race and qualifying take center stage at Interlagos.
Drivers' Championship leader Lando Norris took full points from the sprint after fending off the challenge from Kimi Antontelli in second; Oscar Piastri started in third but crashed into the barriers and took no points from the race.
Qualifying for tomorrow's Grand Prix will come later.
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Norris wins disrupted Brazilian GP sprint race from surging Antonelli, as Piastri crashes out
McLaren F1 chief Andrea Stella isn’t dwelling on Oscar Piastri’s Interlagos sprint race crash, putting it down as “just an episode” and backing his driver to bounce back later in qualifying.
Piastri crashed on Lap 6 of Saturday’s sprint after touching a damp curb at Turn 3, with Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto also going off at the same corner moments later.
It allowed McLaren teammate Lando Norris to move nine points clear at the top of the world championship with the win, capitalizing on Piastri’s failure to score.
Stella told Sky Sports that he had “mixed feelings” about the sprint result, saying it was “unfortunate” that Piastri had crashed out.
“Mixed conditions, tricky conditions, you put a wheel too far, and we saw three cars on the same lap crash in the same point,” Stella said. “It’s just an episode. Oscar has been fast this weekend, so we look now forward to reorganizing, regrouping, repair the car, the big points are tomorrow, and capitalize on the speed in qualifying and then tomorrow with Oscar.”
Asked if he was confident Piastri could quickly put the crash behind him, Stella replied: “100%. He’s a very functional mind, and that certainly the conversation we are going to have.
“The most important point is that the speed is there. It’s an episode where you put a wheel on a curb and you lose it. it’s just an episode.”
A real test for Oscar Piastri for the rest of this weekend — he was asked in his post-race interview with Sky Sports how he regroups ahead of this afternoon's qualifying session.
💬 “Just to try to push this behind me, I guess. We'll see what weather we've got for this afternoon and there are obviously a lot more points on offer tomorrow. The better job I can do this afternoon of trying to give myself a good starting spot, the better it will be.”
While the sprint race doesn't quite have the same bounty on offer as the Grand Prix, that is a pretty disastrous start to a big day for Oscar Piastri.
He came off the track in the eighth lap, went into the barriers and has taken zero points from the race to open the gap between him and teammate Lando Norris to nine points.
The damage to his car thankfully shouldn't rule him out of qualifying, but it does place a much greater importance on his result in qualifying later on…
24 laps and 36 points that have been dished out — here are the eight drivers that got their hands on some vital sprint-race points:
It is very tight between Mercedes and Ferrari in the battle for second place in the Constructors' Championship, so that was a productive morning for the two Mercedes drivers — here is what George Russell had to say on track.
💬 “It was a good race for us both — Kimi did a great job and put Lando under a bit of pressure. P2 and P3 is a really good result, but we need to try to do the same this afternoon. Qualifying is so tight and it's very difficult to overtake at the moment, so that's going to be key.”
It has been a brilliant weekend for Kimi Antontelli so far as he finished second behind Championship leader Lando Norris in today's sprint — here is what he had to say afterwards.
💬 “It was a very fun race in very tricky conditions, especially at the beginning. We tried to keep the pressure on Lando and just came up short. It was a fun race.”
He was then asked how he is feeling ahead of qualifying this afternoon.
“Definitely confident, but the field is so tight. At the end yesterday, it was really hard to put a lap together so we'll see today. Hopefully we can achieve the same result or even better.”
Lando Norris secured pole position for the sprint and won it without being overtaken once, but that didn't tell the full story as he came under some pretty significant pressure from Kimi Antonelli towards the end — here is what the McLaren driver said on track afterwards.
💬 “It was tough. It makes the win a bit more rewarding when you have a race like this. Especially with Kimi here, he was not making my life easy!
“It was sketchy, I had a couple of little nerves and even with the wind it was tricky. Not an easy race, but probably the race you expect here in Brazil — always a difficult one.”
Only one Brazilian driver in the race this year, so the home fans will be devastated to have seen his car go careering into the barriers as he crossed the line ahead of the final lap.
It was a horrible crash for Bortoleto with his car leaving the track before smashing into the barriers, so thankfully he was able to confirm that he was okay and there were no effects on the other drivers.
As I mentioned a moment ago, a huge job faces the Sauber mechanics to try to get him ready for qualification later on.
A very, very important win for Lando Norris, That inflicts maximum damage on Oscar Piastri after his early crash, pulling nine points clear at the top.
It's the biggest championship lead Norris has had at any point this season. Previous best was an eight-point buffer after China.
Lando Norris' weekend at Interlagos just keeps getting better! The Championship leader took pole for the sprint and stayed in P1 throughout to take the full eight points.
The rest of the podium was all Mercedes with Kimi Antonelli in P2 and George Russell in P3.
There was a really nasty crash for home favorite Gabriel Bortoleto in that final lap, but he has confirmed over the radio that he is okay. A huge job for Sauber to get his car ready for qualification in a few hours' time.
LAP 24/24 — This has been great defense from Norris on the worn soft tires — the mark of a champion?
As the two leaders crossed the line for the final lap, the McLaren led by almost seven tenths so it looks like he will on for full points in this sprint race.
LAP 23/24 — Pierre Gasly gets his wish: Charles Leclerc has finally picked off Fernando Alonso for P5. And Gasly himself is into the points for Alpine after passing Stroll.
LAP 22/24 — All eyes at Interlagos and around the world are on the two leaders in this sprint race,
Norris is keeping Antonelli at bay, just. The Mercedes is still within half a second of the McLaren but he is getting close enough to go past the leader.
Down the leaderboard, Leclerc has finally gone past Alonso into P5 and Hamilton will be pretty confident of doing the same in the last two and a half laps of this race.
LAP 21/24 — Kimi on the charge, bidding to upset a McLaren in Brazil? A few shades of F1's 2007 title decider classic here…
LAP 21/24 — Soon after Norris complained about his rear tires, Antonelli closed the gap on the Championship and race leader to less than a second, and he is certainly making ground on the McLaren.
Elsewhere, there isn't too much to get excited about. Alonso is more than seven seconds back from Verstappen in P4, but he is still holding off the challenge of the two Ferraris behind him.
Norris' lead is less than half a second with four laps to go…
LAP 19/24 — Some superb radio sass today from the engineers. After GP made clear to Max Verstappen earlier he couldn't force him to take his advice, Pierre Gasly's engineer, Josh Peckett, replies to a message about Charles Leclerc needing to pass Fernando Alonso: "I'll be sure to let him know."
LAP 18/24 — So far Norris's advantage in the middle sector, where the long, medium-speed corners are just perfect for his McLaren car, is keeping him clear of Antonelli's DRS threat.
But the question is, will the soft tires he swapped onto during the red flag hold on even with a shorter second part to this race?
Norris reports he's "struggling with the rears" — those soft tires might not hold on after all. Potentially a big end to this race coming up, with big implications for the title fight
LAP 16/24 — We have had seven laps since the red flag lifted, but not a single change to the eight places that get sprint-race points.
Verstappen saw off the threat of Alonso in P4 and is stretching away from the Spaniard, who has Leclerc for company in P5. And then comes Hamilton — who started 11th in the grid, remember — within half a second or so of his Ferrari teammate.
A lack of movement on the leaderboard is good news for Norris, whose advantage is a second and a half over Antonelli.
LAP 14/24 — Verstappen struggling to get his mediums warm meant he messed up Turn 1 when battling Alonso. The Aston then came back hard and they came so close to contact at Turns 4 and 5, plus the run uphill to Turn 6.
Amazing car control and trust from both drivers, both multiple world champions. Brilliant stuff.

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