F1
Frustrating day at Interlagos for Max and Yuki
Max took a solid fourth place in the Sprint on Saturday, but it was a difficult, head-scratching Qualifying session later in the day for both Oracle Red Bull Racing cars.
For the first time since 2018 Russian Grand Prix, both Red Bull cars will start a grand prix in the bottom five places. On that day, engine penalties for Max and Daniel Ricciardo dropped the pair to 18th and 19th for the start of the race, but since then at least one Oracle Red Bull Racing driver has made it past the opening session at every race. In Interlagos, however, set-up difficulties left both Bulls exiting in Q1 after the team chased improved performance following a Sprint in which Max took fourth place.
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Hear From Max & Yuki After A Tough Saturday in São Paulo
01
Sprint
With the track damp but ready for slick tyres, Max opted to start the 24-lap Sprint on Soft tyres in order to maximise grip off the line. And when the lights went out at the start, the Dutchman’s decision was rewarded by a great getaway that allowed him to power past the slow-starting Medium-tyre runner Fernando Alonso.
On The Charge From Lights Out
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On lap 6, fifth became fourth when Oscar Piastri lost grip on the exit kerb in Turn 2 and slid off into the barriers at the following Curva del Sol. Seconds later, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto suffered the same fate in the same corner, and with three damaged cars in the run-off area, the red flags were shown and the race was halted.
During the suspension, Max made the switch to Medium tyres and when the rolling start got underway, he initially came under pressure from Fernando, who pushed to exploit the Dutchman’s struggles with warm-up. Max resisted, however, and once his C3s were up to temperature he quickly shook off the Aston Martin man and slowly began to reel in the third-placed Mercedes of George Russell.
But with only 16 laps available, Max took the flag in fourth ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who had caught and passed Fernando in the closing stages. Lewis Hamilton took seventh in the other Ferrari and the final point on offer went to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Max Secures 4th the Sprint
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It was a tougher outing for Yuki. After qualifying in P18, the Team opted to make changes and start the Japanese driver from the pit lane. Once into the race Yuki worked hard to make his way through the pack and at the flag he crossed the line in 14th place.
02
Q1
Yuki opened the Team’s account at the start of qualifying but his opener of 1:11.651 placed him at the lower end of the timesheet. Max’s lap of 1:10.681 put him fourth but he soon dropped down the order as better times came in.
Maximum Focus
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Max headed for the pit lane after his first run and as he made tweaks in an attempt to improve the handling of his RB21, Yuki went out again.
This time our Japanese driver posted a lap of 1:11.012 and that lifted him to P14 but, as better times came in, he moved down the timesheet.
Max then headed out once again, but this time grip failed him in Turn 9 and after a slide he failed to improve. He stayed out, putting in two cool down laps to set up a final run but there was no way through to the later stages of the session and a final lap of 1:10.403, almost a second off his Sprint Qualifying best, left him in the bottom five on the grid for the first time since Russia in 2021.
Making Strides In Lap Times
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“Yeah, tough day,” commented Max afterwards. “I mean tried to make it better but didn't work. Very tough qualifying where, we just didn't seem to find the grip in the car and not a good feeling, so then you know you can't push, it’s unpredictable, you're like driving under it a little bit as well. So yeah, just not what we wanted of course and a few things to look into overnight to try and find a better compromise for tomorrow.”
Ruled out in order behind 16th-placed Max were Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Alpine’s Franco, Yuki and Sauber’s Gabirel Bortoleto, who didn’t make it into qualifying following a crash in the Sprint.
03
Q2
Lando was again in control in the second segment but there was no place in Q3 for Aston Martin’s Fernando who exited in P11 ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, the second Aston of Lance Stroll and the second Williams of Carlos Sainz.
04
Q3
There was no preventing Lando from claiming his second pole of the weekend and he took top spot with a lap of 1:09.511 ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli who delivered a last-gasp lap of 1:09.685 that put him ahead of Charles and Oscar.
Isack Hadjar took his VCARB car to an impressive fifth place that put him ahead of Russell, team-mate Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman. Pierre took ninth place and the final top-10 spot went to Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg.