There are several reasons why F1 is so exciting to watch. For one, it's a multibillion-dollar industry that is at the forefront of automotive technology development. Drivers are often going faster than 186 mph and overtaking is always spectacular to watch. And there's always so much at stake during a race, as everyone is pushing as hard as they can to win it. The more you know about the sport, the more thrilling it becomes to follow.
And the Sprint race in Brazil was one of the most adrenaline-pumping events we've seen all year in F1. Most people would have expected drivers to act slightly more cautious than they did, in preparation for the main event on Sunday.
Even so, there were some interesting duels to watch, and some unexpected situations as well. The whole thing lasted just slightly over 30 minutes, and one can only hope that Sunday's race will be at least as fun to watch.
Kevin Magnussen was going to start the Sprint from Pole Position, a first for both him and Haas, after a tricky qualifying session on Friday. And everyone was curious to see how long he could last before being overtaken by Max Verstappen or George Russell.
As drivers lined up for the starting procedure, it was made clear that Red Bull Racing had chosen to send Verstappen out on Medium tires. The only other driver to do this was Nicholas Latifi, as everyone else was using the Soft compound.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz Group AG
Right off the bat, it felt like a weird strategy. But Verstappen was probably counting on having more grip towards the end of the Sprint when everyone else would suffer from tire degradation. As the lights went out, Magnussen managed to hold on to P1 with heavy battles being fought in the back.
It was strange to see Esteban Ocon fighting with Fernando Alonso, with the latter being forced to go over the curbs to avoid more serious damage. Luckily, the Spaniard is experienced enough to deal with these situations, but the outcome of this duel would not be favorable to either of them.
Magnussen managed to lead the race for the first two laps, before being overtaken by Max Verstappen. On the fourth lap, he also gave way to George Russell, who had already been putting a lot of pressure on his Red Bull Racing opponent.
Sainz, Hamilton, and Perez were next in line to fly past the Haas driver, but he had made his point already. He is well-deserving of a seat in F1, and there might be more to him than we've seen so far. During the ninth lap, we witnessed another ridiculous team incident. This time, it was Lance Stroll that acted a bit wild by forcing Sebastian Vettel off track.
Photo: Ferrari
But the best part of the Sprint was yet to come. On Lap 12 George Russell had an attempt at overtaking Max Verstappen, but the Dutchman aptly defended his position. For the next three laps, their duel would have everyone holding on to the edge of their seats.
On Lap 15 the Silver Arrows driver finally succeeded in taking the lead, and it suddenly felt like choosing Mediums was the wrong choice for Verstappen. After fending off Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz focused on the task ahead and overtook Max Verstappen in an unexpected twist of events. One lap later, the current World Champion would lose his position to Hamilton as well.
It didn't feel like anyone could interfere with George Russell's stint to the finish line, but there was more action to witness behind him. Carlos Sainz had initially extended his lead over Hamilton, but on lap 21 he made it clear that his tires were done for.
This could have led to a 1-2 finish for Mercedes, but let's not forget that the Spaniard is no rookie either. With one victory and seven more podiums so far in 2022, this is shaping up to be the best F1 season of his career. But he'll need to do even better if he is to go past Lewis Hamilton in the fight for P5 at the end of the year.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz Group AG
At the end of the day, George Russell scored his first F1 victory. Even though it's not a GP victory, it still counts for something as it brings precious points for him and his team. Sainz crossed the finish line just 3.995 seconds later, but he's still got a grid penalty going on for today's main event. He will be starting from P7, but that doesn't mean he can't work his way up through the competition.
Lewis Hamilton was third fastest in the Sprint race, and he was just half a second away from Ferrari's driver. Verstappen and Perez crossed the finish line in P4 and P5, while Leclerc was sixth overall. Lando Norris was 7th, which means Magnussen still secured one point at the end of it all.
The gap between Ferrari and Mercedes is now down to 36 points, with two races to go. Losing P2 would be quite disastrous for the Italian squad, after a year of ups and downs. While it seems difficult for the Silver Arrows to achieve this victory, their pace seems to have improved considerably and everything can still happen.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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