F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Max Verstappen denies Lando Norris first win in sprint race
Norris had beaten his close friend Verstappen to pole but the three-time world cham𝓡pion turned the tables on the McLaren driver by snatching the leadꦬ at the start as he took the inside line into Turn 1.
Norris closed to just over a second behind Verstappen at mid-distan♐ce but was unable to get close enough to threaten the Dutchman, 𒊎who ultimately eased to his fourth sprint race win of 2023.
Some way back from the front two, Serg🍒io Perez twice passed Mercedes’ George Russell to secure what ended up being a comfortable third place.
Russell dropped back from Perez on his way to finishing fourth, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda, who claimed important points for AlphaTauri with a sup🤪erb drive to sixth.
Lewis Hamilton had been running fifth but the seven-time world champion’s pace dramatically faded in the closing stages as he was shuf𒊎fled down to seventh at the chequered flag.
The Mercedes driver only just fended off the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, who grabbed the final point on offer in ಌeighth.
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