Mercedes placed first and third in the sprint race to establish the grid for tomorrow’s 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with George Russell claiming pole position and seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton moving up to third with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Jr. sandwiched in between them.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen began the 24-lap sprint race qualifier on pole position but was only able to hold that position for the first lap before Red Bull’s Max Verstappen passed him. However, Red Bull elected to start Verstappen on medium tires with everybody else starting on soft tires and that strategy error cost Verstappen late in the race as Russell, Sainz, Jr. and Hamilton all passed him – with Sainz, Jr. clipping him on his pass of Verstappen and giving Verstappen some front wing damage which made it somewhat easier for Hamilton to pass him later.
From the results, Mercedes will start 1-2 tomorrow – with Sainz, Jr. receiving a five-place grid penalty for taking on an extra engine – while Magnussen held on for eighth place and will start in the fourth row.
2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix – Top 10 Sprint Race Qualifier [only top eight places receive points]
1] George Russell Mercedes [8 points]
2] Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari +3.995 seconds [7 points]
3] Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +4.492 [6 points]
4] Max Verstappen Red Bull +10.494 [5 points]
5] Sergio Perez Red Bull +11.855 [4 points]
6] Charles Leclerc Ferrari +13.133 [3 points]
7] Lando Norris McLaren +25.624 [2 points]
8] Kevin Magnussen Haas +28.768 [1 point]
9] Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin +30.218
10] Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri +34.170
