Russell won the Brazil sprint race and the Carlos Sainz recital

Mercedes return to the top. After a season full of problems from the start due to its complex car concept, the stars gradually took steps forward until it came to Saturday, where George Russell He achieved the first win, albeit in a sprint race, for the Silver Arrows team. They want to go all out in 2023. And their best letter of introduction is now short sleeve. They won again. They gave an important blow to the table to warn their intentions for this Sunday and for the next course. Mercedes It’s already there, like a George Russell who took the prize for his first great season with the Brackley before the one Carlos Sainz (2nd) who snacked on Verstappen (4th) at turn 1 of lap 19, with 5 to go, with a sensational maneuver, and defensive position with great courage and force against a faster Hamilton (3rd). Sainz gave a recital, although he will not start 2nd this Sunday, he will do so from 7th place due to an engine change.

Sainz, in the ‘killer’

Who says Carlos doesn’t have the ‘killer’ side of Leclerc or Verstappen? He silenced his critics, taking advantage of how much the Dutchman struggled on the medium rubber. Sainz smelled the blood and attacked his victim without thinking. He warned before this GP that he is ready for the return of Carlos of 2021 and previous years. He proved it. If you have a fast car, you can beat Max. He warned on Thursday that Max is not unbeatable and he showed it on Sunday. The Spaniard responded on the track to those who did not see a possible champion in him. It depends on the car and the wear of the tires. neither Max he is superior behind the wheel as he showed in the final rounds, winning in a car with more speed and less degradation, nor Carlos It was the one at the beginning of the campaign, when he suffered a lot to adapt to a car that was antagonistic to his style. Neither Carlos nor Leclerc could beat Max due to his biggest tire failure in a long race since before the summer. But in a sprint appointment, on a circuit where Ferrari seemed to have regained its rhythm, things changed. In a fast car, with good wear, Sainz did Verstappen and Hamilton.

This time Max took the wrong approach, as he was the only one at the top who started on the medium rubber instead of the soft. He paid for it and Sainz took advantage like a charm.

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Carlos’ race is very intelligent. Hamilton, with better tires and more speed, pushed him on lap 16, but Sainz came on strong, closing the door several times with the right line. And that’s not all, Sainz stayed in the DRS position with Max to defend against Hamilton. And when he saw the opportunity, hehe overpowers Max with a big hack. He went so far that the right rear tire caught Max’s front wing, breaking the left side of the wing. It was more difficult for Hamilton to pass Verstappen and that gave Carlos the wind to have enough of an advantage to finish 2nd.

He managed to beat Verstappen in the short race at the weekend. That should not mean anything for Sunday, because Carlos Sainz has 5 penalty positions for changing the combustion chamber. He would move from second on the grid to 7th, full of confidence from the good pace his car had shown before his comeback attempt. For his part, Verstappen will start in 4th looking to redeem himself. In a long race, Max is still the favorite. The big question is whether Russell and Mercedes can work together with their good breakdowns and race pace to beat the Dutchman.

Alonso explodes against Ocon

Fernando Alonso started 7th looking to move up positions this Saturday for Sunday’s starting grid, but his weekend could be ruined by a double touch with Ocon. The Spaniard tried to pass Esteban on the outside at turn 4, but the Frenchman went wide and both touched. The Asturian miraculously saved the spin after accelerating the car to the curbs, and immediately afterwards, on the final straight, when Fernando was about to pass Esteban in the slipstream, the Asturian and the Frenchman stuck together and lost of the wing in front of Fernando. I went from being an early starter in the points position, to doing it from afar. Only Alonso had to go into the pits to fit a new wing and he was the last to exit the track, recovering positions until the 15th final.

“I lost my front wing thanks to our friend,” he said softly, then complained louder: “He pushed me in Turn 4. And he finally pushed me on the straight too. Well done!”

For his part, Saturday’s hero, Kevin Magnussen, was able to extend his dream for three laps, which is what Verstappen needed to pass him. The Dutchman was one of the riders who suffered the most with his tires, and he was the only one at the top who bet on medium tires. He was out of rhythm and dropped to 4th place ahead of Pérez, Leclerc (6th), Norris (7th), Magnussen (8th), Vettel (9th) and Gasly (10th).