Lawson ninth in Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint, Piastri gives Norris victory

Liam Lawson finished just outside the points in this morning’s Sprint Race at the Brazilian Grand Prix, crossing the line in ninth, just behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

Lawson did well to defend his starting position of eighth for the first 20 laps and looked set for a point, only for a charging Perez to get past four laps from home.

Perez started the race from a lowly 14th, but quickly found his way past Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, and Alex Albon in quick succession to climb to ninth by the end of Lap 11.

By that point, Lawson was 2.5 seconds up the road, but Perez ate into thee advantage quickly. Just a few laps later he looked to have the move completed at Turn 1, only to lock up and run wide, allowing the #30 back through.

Several laps of stubborn defence followed, before Perez finally got the move completed on Lap 20 to take the final World Championship point on offer and confining the Kiwi to ninth.

Only the top eight score points in Sprint races.

McLaren’s Lando Norris won his first-ever Sprint race, thanks to Oscar Piastri, who sacrificed the victory to allow his teammate through for the spoils in aid of his Drivers’ World Championship tilr.

Piastri finished behind Norris to complete a McLaren one-two, but was pressured by Max Verstappen on the final lap restart from a late Virtual Safety Car which came when Hulkenberg was forced to pull off with a mechanical.

Verstappen looked to have a run on Piastri on the restart, but appeared to make his move too early approaching Turn 4, with the race still neutralised. While he did not complete the overtake, he does face a post-race investigation for the transgression.

Third place for the championship leader minimises his losses to Norris to just two points ahead of tomorrow’s Brazilian Grand Prix. Verstappen does, however, have a five place grid penalty after taking a new internal combustion engine, having already exceeded his allocation for the year.

The Dutchman had got a good launch from fourth and looked to have the edge over Charles Leclerc entering Turn 1, only to lock up his front left and run long, allowing the Ferrari back through.

Leclerc ran third for most of the race as the front four pulled well clear of the field, but lost out on Lap 18, with Verstappen easily working his way past as the Ferrari’s tyres faded.

Leclerc held on for fourth but dropped four seconds off the podium trio, albeit with the possibility of a penalty for Verstappen looming.

Carlos Sainz ran a lonely race for fifth, having been unable to match the pace of the top four but not facing any immediate threats from behind. The same could be said for George Russell, who was sixth, but struggled for pace in his Mercedes.

The same could be said for Hamilton, who failed to make any impression from his grid position of 11th, finishing in the same place.

Pierre Gasly faced extended periods of pressure from Lawson and then a late charge on his way to seventh to take Alpine’s first Sprint points of the season.

Lawson finished 2 sseconds behind Perez in ninth, but 3 seconds up the road from Albon.

The Kiwi’s VCARB teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished 15th, having started 18th.

Hulkenberg was the only non-finisher following his Lap 20 retirement.

Formula 1 returns with Grand Prix qualifying at 7.00 am NZST.

Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Race Results