F1 urges caution after sizzling São Paulo sprint

São Paulo Grand Prix

F1 urges caution after sizzling São Paulo sprint

F1 sprint served up a thriller at Interlagos

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Wednesday 16 November 2022 09:08

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F1 managing director, motorsport, Ross Brawn has urged caution over potential changes to the sprint format after Interlagos served up a scintillating spectacle.

George Russell emerged victorious from the 24-lap event to ensure he would lead an all-Mercedes front row for the São Paulo Grand Prix alongside Lewis Hamilton.

In an event full of drama, Kevin Magnussen predictably slipped from pole position to eighth, whilst Russell chased down Max Verstappen for the win.

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Verstappen also lost out to Carlos Sainz, damaging his front wing in the process, and eventually finished only fourth.

Hamilton rose from eighth to third but profits from Ferrari driver Sainz's engine penalty, whilst in the midfield, both Alpine and Aston Martin saw infighting between team-mates on track.

Mick Schumacher also shined, rising from 20th to 12th in the second Haas.

"Very pleasing, the racing is very pleasing," said Brawn.

"The track helps, it shows the sensitivity for selecting the right sort of races for next year. But fantastic."

F1 has "fantastic foundation" for sprint future

Talks will begin in the winter over a potential move to standalone sprints after a number of complaints about the level of action achieved in the previous five events.

Two-time champion Verstappen led those concerns with the Red Bull driver suggesting there is a lack of risk being taken by drivers because of the skew in importance towards the grand prix proper.

But warning against drastic change, Brawn added: "We are looking at if there are any evolutions in the format that can be considered for next year, but we have got a fantastic foundation already."

"We are very cautious about changing things and certainly, I don't think we should move to a dramatically different format.

"It was great, a fantastic race, gave the crowd terrific entertainment. Qualifying is special but not as special as this was, I enjoyed that."