Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix Prediction: Can Max further complicate the championship?

There are only four races left until the end of the Formula 1 season, and the fight for the championship title is very tense. Norris has one point more than Piastri, and with 36 points minus, Max Verstappen is still not giving up. He sees his opportunity this weekend in Brazil, where he has won three times so far. At the Mexico City Grand Prix two weeks ago, Lando Norris took his sixth win of the season, returning to the top of the drivers' standings after more than six months. In the last three races, the Briton took third, second, and first place and took advantage of the weaker form of his teammate Oscar Piastri (4-5-5) to take the lead.

Brazilian GP

From 2021, the race in Brazil is officially called the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Fans still recognize the track under the name Interlagos, although the official name is Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, after the driver who was born in Sao Paulo and who won once in Formula 1, precisely at the home race in 1975 in a Brabham car. The circuit is 4.3 kilometers long and has 15 turns. Raced in a counter-clockwise direction, the Grand Prix race is 71 laps long. The owner of the lap record is Valtteri Bottas, since he set a time of 1:10.540 in a Mercedes car in 2018. Last year, the track received a new layer of asphalt, so it is no longer as abrasive as in the past. The surface isn't as rough on the tires as it used to be, but it's still quite uneven. Pirelli has prepared C2 as a harder, C3 as a medium and C4 as a softer tire for this year's Sao Paulo Grand Prix. One level harder tire than last year.

Norris sprint race winner in Sao Paulo!

Despite announcements of a rainy weekend, Saturday's sessions for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix took place in somewhat dry conditions. However, there were still victims of the wet parts of the track. Since the end of the championship, every victory will be crucial. Here, Lando Norris took the victory in McLaren ahead of the Mercedes duo, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

Norris pole position in Sao Paulo, Verstappen dropped out in Q1!

Lando Norris is having a perfect weekend in Sao Paulo, at least for now. After taking first place in sprint qualifying and winning the sprint race, the McLaren driver took his 15th career pole position in qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix race. Kimi Antonelli drove very well again and finished second in his Mercedes, while Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari and Oscar Piastri in another McLaren took third and fourth. Racing Bulls drivers had excellent qualifications. Isack Hadjar finished fifth and Liam Lawson seventh. George Russell settled between them. The big shock happened in the first qualifying round. Max Verstappen was stuck in 16th place and failed to make it into Q2. Remembering his victory in Brazil last year from 17th on the grid, he will need a similar miracle this Sunday to keep alive his chances of defending his title. Lewis Hamilton was also disappointed by finishing only in 13th place.

Verstappen: Let's forget about the championship

One of the main topics after the second day of this year's Sao Paulo Grand Prix is Max Verstappen's exit in the first part of qualifying. Saturday's sprint race did not go well for Max Verstappen. He finished fourth and lost three points to the winner, Lando Norris. Thus, Verstappen's gap in the overall standings increased to 39 points. "It was simply bad. I couldn't press at all. The car was all over the place, it was slipping a lot. That's why I had to drive below the required level so that I wouldn't have some kind of dangerous moment, and that doesn't work in qualifying, of course," said Max

Expert Betting Tips

The track offers several good opportunities for overtaking, and throughout history has delivered a handful of memorable moments. Racing in Brazil is often extremely eventful, sometimes chaotic, and often seasoned by unpredictable weather conditions. It was the same last year when Verstappen won after starting from 17th position. This Sunday, drivers should also look towards the sky, at least that's what the weather forecasts suggest. Sunday should be more stable compared to previous days, but also much colder with a daily maximum of around 20 degrees. I expect a very tense race with many overtaking, since both Hamilton and Verstappen are starting from behind.

OUR PREDICTION: Charles Leclerc in top 3