RSS Feed

BEES 2.0

Russell wins sprint for top grid slot on Sunday<br> *<br> Hamilton joins him on front row<br> *<br> Sainz second at the flag but has a grid penalty<br> *<br> Red Bull's Verstappen fourth<br> *<br> Magnussen bags a point for Haas<br> (Adds no action against Hamilton, Alonso punished)<br> By Gabriel Araujo<br> SAO PAULO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - George Russell gave Mercedes their first win of the Formula One season in the Sao Paulo sprint on Saturday, with seven-times world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton joining him on the front row for Sunday's Brazilian grand prix.<br> The 100-km race set the grid for the main event at Interlagos, the penultimate grand prix of the season, but also carried important points for some of the top eight finishers.<br> It turned out to be a 24-lap thriller, possibly the most entertaining sprint so far, with the Brazilian crowd treated to wheel-to-wheel racing, overtakes and clashes between team mates.<br> "That's how we roll, baby," shouted Russell, who started third and powered past Verstappen on lap 15 after several failed attempts, after the chequered flag.<br> It was the Briton's first victory in Formula One, even if he is still waiting for a full one.<br> "They all count," he said.  "It was definitely a sweet feeling to cross that line in first position... it's so great to see the progress we're making as a team.<br> "It's such a morale booster going into the winter regardless of the outcome tomorrow. This is a huge result for us."<br> Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished second at the chequered flag but the Spaniard will drop back to seventh on Sunday's grid due to a penalty for exceeding his season's engine allocation.<br> That will promote Hamilton from third, with race stewards clearing him and others of a potential infringement at the start.<br> VERSTAPPEN FOURTH<br> Verstappen, who lined up on the front row at Interlagos alongside first time pole-sitter Kevin Magnussen's Haas, finished fourth but will also move up a place on Sunday and remains a threat.<br> He complained of running over debris and made contact with Sainz's Ferrari as the Spaniard overtook aggressively with five laps remaining.<br> Hamilton, who started eighth, also went past the Dutch 25-year-old.<br> Verstappen was the only front-runner to start on the medium tyres, with Russell on softs, and that seemed a mistake by a driver who has won a record 14 grands prix this season and both previous sprints.<br> "At the time I felt alright, it somehow didn't work but even on a soft I think I was going to be too slow," he said. "Really, we just had way too much (tyre) degradation here today.<br> "I'm not sure if we can do a lot for tomorrow, but it can't be worse than today."<br> Red Bull and Verstappen have already won both championships and are now chasing records, with the team on a run of nine wins in a row.<br> Mexican Sergio Perez, Verstappen's team mate, finished fifth with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc sixth and McLaren's Lando Norris seventh.<br> Magnussen, who secured an astonishing pole in Friday's qualifying, took a point for Haas in eighth after being passed by Verstappen on lap three and dropping steadily down the order.<br> "It was always going to be unrealistic to keep those guys behind," he said.  "I didn't want to try even because I knew the battle was going to be around P7 or P8. I didn't want to lose any time getting overtaken."<br> Alpine's Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon clashed twice, with the Spaniard first being forced wide and needing a new front wing and then hitting the rear of the Frenchman's car when trying to pass.<br> "I lost the front wing thanks to our friend," said Alonso, who is joining Aston Martin at the end of the season and was handed a five second penalty plus two points on his licence for causing the second collision.<br> The Spaniard will start 18th and Ocon 17th.<br> Aston Martin had their own battles with Lance Stroll forcing four-times world champion team mate Sebastian Vettel on to the grass and collecting a 10-second time penalty.  The Canadian finished 17th, and Vettel ninth. (Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Christian Radnedge and Clare Fallon)<br> adverts.addToArray({"pos":"inread_player"})Advertisement  Here is my webpage ...  https://Maskotslot4D.Blogspot.com