Here is our full text transcript from the Sprint Shootout for the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at the 4.309-kilometre Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Autódromo de Interlagos:
It’s been stormy in the UK this weekend and a sudden downpour caused an early end to Q3 yesterday in a drama qualifying at Interlagos. Day quickly turned to night but it was Max Verstappen who still came out on top from Charles Leclerc after the one and only Q3 run. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso locked out the second row in Aston Martin’s best qualifying since the early part of the season and there was huge frustration at McLaren with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri losing out in the changing conditions.
Today is all about the Sprint though, so we have a Sprint Shootout to come at 2pm which will set the grid for the Sprint at 6.30pm. Stay with us for all the drama in Sao Paulo.
George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were all given two-place grid penalties last night for Sunday’s Sao Paulo GP after falling foul foul of the new instruction regarding driving slowly exiting the pit lane in Friday qualifying
Interestingly, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have two new sets of soft tyres available, so could do two runs in SQ3 on new softs if they wish. Lots of new mediums for most drivers too, which they must use in SQ1 and SQ2.
The Sprint Shootout follows the same three-session knockout format as usual qualifying, but each Q1, Q2 and Q3 segment has been shortened to address engine and tyre concerns the teams had.
SQ1 is shortened from 18 minutes to 12 minutes.
SQ2 is shortened from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.
SQ3 is shortened from 12 minutes to eight minutes.
The other significant difference between the Sprint Shootout and regular qualifying will be restrictions on tyre usage.
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While teams are free to use any of their available tyres in regular qualifying, in the Sprint Shootout new sets of medium tyres will be mandatory in SQ1 and SQ2. In SQ3, drivers must run soft tyres but they do not have to be a new set. The Sprint Shootout sets the grid for tonight’s Sprint Race, which has the potential to be very exciting.
The light at the end of the pit lane goes green and SQ1 is under way! Much warmer conditions today at Interlagos compared to yesterday, which may change the pecking order. We have 12 minutes to filter out five drivers. 10 mins to go: It’s the world champion who who is first out of the pit lane. He is about to start his first flying lap – let’s see how it goes. It’s a 1:11.888 from Verstappen, which puts him about 0.3s clear of his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
7 mins to go in SQ1: Well, that’s interesting. Carlos Sainz goes almost a tenth faster than Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton is slots in just in front of the Red Bull in second. George Russell is fourth in the other Mercedes, with Charles Leclerc fifth. This could be more than just the Verstappen and Norris show, speaking of which, the McLarens have yet to set their first lap times.
4 mins to go in SQ1: Lando Norris pops up to sixth place and is 0.287s behind Carlos Sainz. Kevin Magnussen is in fifth for Haas. They have been very quick over one lap in recent events. It’s not good news for Oscar Piastri though as he’s down in 14th.
3 mins to go in SQ1: Max Verstappen is not happy. He was preparing to start a flying lap, when his team-mate Perez came flying around the outside of him in the final sector to take track position for a flying lap of his own.
“What is Checo doing? Mate, you have to tell me if he is going for a lap, I didn’t know,” Verstappen said. The response: “Max, that was not expected.” We know Verstappen tends not to let these incidents go very easily. 1 min to go in SQ1: Sergio Perez is only 10th and other drivers are setting personal bests. The Red Bull driver will need to improve to ensure his place in SQ2.
Crash brings out red flag: Esteban Ocon has had a heavy impact with the barriers at the start of the lap. That triggers a red flag, which means with only 33 seconds to go, the session is over. That means Ocon, Stroll, Zhou, Albon and Sargeant are out. Carlos Sainz’s early SQ1 time was enough to be fastest and Lando Norris improved just before the red flag to go second. Lewis Hamilton is third and Max Verstappen fourth. It’s going to be another tight one when we get to SQ3.
We are just waiting for the barriers that Esteban Ocon crashed into to be checked before SQ2 can get under way. We’ll bring you the start time for that as soon as we get it. Meanwhile, George Russell, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Esteban Ocon are under investigation for exceeding the maximum delta time during SQ1. And, of course, the Ocon-Alonso collision is going to be investigated after the session.
The reason we are still waiting for the start of SQ2 is that the barrier Esteban Ocon hit is being repaired. As soon as it’s ready, we’ll be back under way! The only person this might be good news for, is Fernando Alonso, with Aston Martin frantically working to fix his car. SQ2 begins! 0 mins to go in SQ2: After that delay, we’re off again. 10 minutes on medium tyres, and we have several cars straight out on track, including Lewis Hamilton.
7 mins to go in SQ1: Verstappen goes three tenths faster than Sainz’s best time in SQ1. Perez crosses the line a few seconds later and is a couple tenths behind his Red Bull team-mate. 5 mins to go in SQ2: We’ve now seen all the front runners do their first flying laps in SQ2. Carlos Sainz is the only one who was able to get in front of a Red Bull. He’s second behind Max Verstappen, with the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc fourth behind Sergio Perez. Oscar Piastri is fifth, but Lando Norris, who many fancied for pole, is only seventh. The Mercedes cars are also off the pace, with Lewis Hamilton in P9 and George Russell P10.
Replays show one of the Red Bulls going slowly through Turn 11 which Charles Leclerc says is “not great”. That probably won’t be looked as the Red Bull was well off the racing line but will have given Leclerc a little bit of dirty air. 2 mins to go in SQ2: Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas have all opted to go for just one run in this session, and are all on the way out on track now. The 10 who have already set lap times are also out there, so the track is pretty busy
Chequered flag: Max Verstappen improves even more and Valtteri Bottas lifts himself out of the drop zone into seventh. Will that be enough to get Bottas into SQ3? t’s another miserable session for Alpine, as Pierre Gasly joins Esteban Ocon on the sidelines. Also out are both Haas cars and Valtteri Bottas, along with Fernando Alonso, who never made it out on track. The headline achievers are AlphaTauri, with Daniel Ricciardo advancing in fourth and Yuki Tsunoda scraping through in P10. Lando Norris went from last to first at the end of SQ2 with an impressive lap to end up quickest.
Sergio Perez was only 0.009s slower though, with Verstappen in third. Lewis Hamilton was sixth and George Russell eighth, so work to do for Mercedes if they want to get onto the front row for the Sprint.
SQ3 is under way. But…nobody has ventured out onto the track. That’s because the 10 drivers will do just one run on the soft tyres and want to do it at the end of the session, so they can get the best track conditions. 4 mins to go in SQ3: Still no cars on track which is somewhat of a risk because what if a red flag comes out with around 80 seconds remaining and nobody has done a lap? Imagine if that happens!
Meanwhile, Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri don’t have any new soft tyres, so they be at a disadvantage here.
3 mins to go in SQ3: We finally have a car on track…First out is the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, and suddenly they all follow! This is going to be fast and furious. Max Verstappen is in a hurry as he overtakes two cars in the pit exit, just like he did yesterday. Lando Norris is on provisional Sprint pole. He outpaces Max Verstappen and the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri to top the timesheet. The Mercedes and Ferraris are still to come… And Norris does it! Perez goes third on those used tyres and is 0.134s behind. George Russell takes fourth, with Lewis Hamilton fifth. It’s not a good Sprint Shootout for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc is only seventh and Carlos Sainz ninth.
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