Formula 1 Heineken Grand Premio De Sao Paulo 2021 Preview

Formula One travels to Brazil for round 19 of the calendar, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leading Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by 19 points coming into what is the second of a triple-header following the Dutchman’s dominant win at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico ahead of the Brit.

In the race for the Constructor’s title, the Bulls cut Mercedes’ gap down to just one point following the third race in a row that the Austrian constructor has managed a double podium, as Sergio Perez became the first-ever Mexican to finish on the podium at his home GP, whilst Valtteri Bottas fell down the grid following a clash with Daniel Ricciardo on the first lap, meaning that the Finn was forced to cancel out Verstappen’s fastest lap point later on in the race and ended up crossing the finish line in 15th.

With the number of races ticking down to just four left coming to Sao Paulo, time is running out for Hamilton to close the widening gap to Verstappen and this really does feel like it is last chance saloon for the seven-time world champion, as another repeat of Mexico’s result would see the Stevenage-born driver over a whole race worth of points behind.

Verstappen and Red Bull know that they have got Hamilton exactly where they want him, the Brit will be fearful that anything less than pole position could signal curtains for his title defence as he lives on what looks like borrowed time in the championship fight and this is a track that Red Bull have had a decent record at in Mercedes’ era of dominance, as shown by Verstappen’s victory in 2019 ahead of Hamilton.

Having seemingly thrown away their chances of qualifying on the front row last time out due to be “Tsunoda’d” as Christian Horner called it, as the Japanese driver’s exit from the track limits in his final run seemingly caught Perez and Verstappen off guard, it is expected to be a very close battle once again between the two championship protagonists.

Qualifying will take place on Friday at 7 pm due to there being Sprint Qualifying this week on Saturday at 7:30 pm which will undoubtedly shake the grid up and give both title rivals an opportunity to take points off one another before the race. Hamilton must make sure that Saturday's session is error-free.

Pole Position: Verstappen. 2nd. Hamilton. 3rd. Perez

If Red Bull’s blistering pace in Mexico is anything to go off which saw Verstappen finish a mere 16.5 seconds out in front, even blocking Bottas’ initial attempt for a fastest lap of the race, then the race in Brazil will be a foregone conclusion, but, with this track being more of a level playing field due to a lower altitude, we do expect a tighter battle for the lead as we saw at the likes of Zandvoort and the Circuit of Americas.

Once again, any assistance from a teammate such as Perez or Bottas will be highly valuable for each of the front two. Perez has finished on the podium three races in a row now which is the best run of top-three finishes in his F1 career, whilst Bottas has only scored eight points since his brilliant win in Turkey and will be needed by his team if they are to stay ahead of the Red Bulls in the Constructor’s Championship.

Prediction: 1st. Verstappen. 2nd. Hamilton. 3rd. Perez

In the battle for third place in the Constructors standings Ferrari have now overtaken McLaren by 13.5 points as Charles LeClerc and Carlos Sainz managed fifth and sixth-place finishes whilst Lando Norris got a single point in 10th and Ricciardo whose race was compromised following a collision with Bottas scored no points in 12th, this is a disappointing drop off in points from a McLaren team who were comfortably the third-best team when entering the summer break.

AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly finished fourth, further showcasing his credentials to drive for a team further up the grid in the future. The Frenchman memorably finished in second place in the 2019 Brazilian GP ahead of Sainz and both Alfa Romeo drivers in Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi.

Gasly’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda will be hoping to get some points on the board having shown his pace in qualifying at the Mexican GP despite the Japanese driver knowing that he was going to receive any engine penalty. The 21-year-old retired in lap one due to a collision and will be keen to show his team his true capabilities this weekend.

Three-time Brazilian GP winner and four-time F1 world champion Sebastien Vettel managed to go fairly unnoticed in seventh-place in Mexico and will fancy his chances of earning his team so more points this weekend, whilst Fernando Alonso who has never won here but was crowned as a two-time world champion at Interlagos back in 2006 is looking to add to the two points that he scored last time out.