F1 Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Results: Front Row Lockout for Mercedes

• Mercedes' George Russell won Saturday's Sprint and will start first in Sunday's F1 Brazilian Grand Prix. Russell's teammate Lewis Hamilton will start second.

• Lewis Hamilton started eighth on Saturday, climbed to third in the Sprint, and will line up alongside Russell on the front row of the grid because Carlos Sainz, who finished second in Sprint, has a five-place penalty for an engine change. change.

• Haas' Kevin Magnussen, who started first in the Sprint race after winning the pole in Friday qualifying, slipped to eighth, and that's where he'll start on Sunday.
  

During its eight-year rule of Formula 1, a front-row lockout for Mercedes became something of a formality—yet 2022 has been a different story.

Mercedes has relinquished its crown to Red Bull Racing and has not taken a victory across the 20 races so far, having also slipped behind Ferrari. But Mercedes has been making ground in recent Grands Prix and in Brazil on Saturday it came to the fore during F1 Sprint at Interlagos.

Mercedes' George Russell won Saturday's Sprint and will start first in Sunday's F1 Brazilian Grand Prix. Russell's teammate Lewis Hamilton will start second.

Haas' Kevin Magnussen, who started first after winning the pole in Friday qualifying, slipped to eighth, and that's where he'll start on Sunday.

From third place on the grid, Russell became involved in a fierce scrap with World Champion Max Verstappen and eventually prevailed to cross the line first after the 24-lap encounter. That secured Russell top spot for Sunday’s 71-lap Grand Prix.

Hamilton rose from eighth at the start to third and will line up alongside Russell on the front row of the grid because Carlos Sainz, who finished second in Sprint, has a five-place penalty for an engine change.

Verstappen, who sustained front wing damage battling Sainz, classified fourth, and will start directly behind the Mercedes drivers on Sunday as he chases a record-extending 15th victory of the year.

“It’s crazy to think we’re on the front row, it’s going to be exciting,” said Russell. “I’m sure Max will be flying tomorrow but we’re in a luxury position where we can maybe split the strategy and go for the win.”

Hamilton described himself as “so, so happy” and described a front-row start as “incredible” after a tough season for the outgoing champions.

“Hopefully we can hold off the guys behind. We’ll try as hard as we can. Hopefully we can have a good fight on our hands. A win here for Brazil would be incredible.”

It was a frantic Sprint, the third of the 2022 season, at a circuit well-known for wheel-to-wheel action.

Haas and Magnussen enjoyed their moment in the sun prerace, lining up from pole position, following Friday’s heroics during qualifying. Magnussen led the opening two laps from his and Haas’ maiden pole position before slipping down the order.

Magnussen nonetheless salvaged eighth place, picking up one point, and he will start from that position on Sunday. He still gets credit for the pole position in the record books, however.

It was a disastrous day for Alpine. Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso started sixth and seventh respectively but clashed twice on the opening lap, the latter contact causing front wing damage for Alonso, who had to pit.

Alonso was classified 15th while Ocon took only 18th after sliding down the order, with his A522 spectacularly catching fire in parc ferme after the race.