Sao Paulo Grand Prix Saturday: Teams & Drivers report from Interlagos

The Sprint race earlier in the day saw Lando Norris win from pole position, with the Mercedes pair of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell rounding out the top three.

Four drivers retired from the race, including Title contender Oscar Piastri who crashed out at Turn 3 on the sixth lap. Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto found the barriers at the same location on the same lap.

Home favourite Gabriel Bortoleto suffered a massive accident with one lap remaining at the first corner, damaging his Kick Sauber to the point that it couldn't be repaired in time for Qualifying later in the afternoon.

Norris once again placed his McLaren at the head of the field in Qualifying, followed by Antonelli and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Piastri could only muster P4, but this wasn't nearly as bad as Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen, who will line up in P13 and P16 respectively.

This is what the drivers and teams had to say on Saturday evening in Sao Paulo:

Alex Albon: "Overall, the Sprint wasn’t great for us. We were not quite able to get points, so I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks. Unfortunately, with the incident at the end, I picked up some damage from debris, and we had to work quickly to turn the car around before qualifying. We had to switch from our new floor back to an older one, which I think cost us some performance. I’m really glad Gabi [Bortoleto] is okay though; that was a big crash. Qualifying was then quite tricky. We made some good changes and I think we did make a step forward with the car, but you can't really see it. We still don’t have the balance we’re looking for, and that’s causing us to hurt the tyres. We saw the same thing in the Sprint, so we need to look at that and understand our race pace better because it’s so tight in the midfield right now."

Carlos Sainz: "It’s been tough to find performance in the car this weekend. We struggle in these types of longer corners and, even though we’ve been playing around a lot with setup, I haven’t managed to find something I’m happy with and I’ve not been comfortable in the car. Tomorrow the pecking order is quite out of sync, so we’ll see what we can do with strategy to try to get into the points. I’m always more optimistic for Sunday, so we’ll keep fighting until the end."

James Vowles, Team Principal: "The long and short of it is we're not competitive enough here. We've seen that across two days and two qualifying sessions. It's a very close field but we're not at the sharp end of it. We've tried quite a few different setup directions between the two cars, but I don't think we found the sweet spot yet. Irrespective, this is a race that can throw up surprises, so we need to keep our noses clean on the opening laps and take every opportunity that comes towards us."

Isack Hadjar: "After a tricky Sprint race this morning, I’m glad that we put it all together during a hectic Qualifying session. There were very difficult conditions out there and despite having a fast a car, for most of the time I was just fighting with it. It wasn’t easy at all to keeping the car on track today, so this P5 comes with a bit of a surprise and it’s a great result for us as a team. Tomorrow we’ll start in a very interesting position and it’s definitely a big opportunity to score important points for the Constructors’ Championship, so we’ll give our all to achieve the best possible result."

Liam Lawson: "To have both cars in Q3 is a great result for the team. The pace was very strong in Qualifying, which is great given the tough Sprint race. We'll be analysing the small details after losing lap time during Q3, which cost us a few positions, but it's certainly a decent place to be starting from tomorrow. As always, the target is to score points, so we'll be giving it our all on track."

Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Vehicle Performance: "The weather conditions we found today were certainly better than expected; the track was still damp for the start of the Sprint this morning, but everybody elected to start on the dry tyres. The Sprint race was difficult for us, Isack had a poor start on the Soft tyres and lost several positions in the first few corners. After the red flag, we decided to put him on the Mediums, which looked a little bit more competitive, but it wasn’t good enough for points, despite several cars ahead being taken out in incidents. Liam had a decent start, but out of Turn 3 was pushed onto the grass. With wet and dirty tyres, he struggled in the following corner and made contact with another car, heavily damaging his floor and bodywork. From there it was tough to recover.

"Following the overnight analysis, simulator running and the driver’s feedback from the Sprint, we made several setup changes for Qualifying, including a downforce level change on Isack. Both drivers did a brilliant job to secure the 5th and 7th positions on the grid and the team managed the progression through session on this very tight field very well – there were 13 cars in less than half a second in Q2!
We have a long race ahead tomorrow, but we’re starting from a good position. The target is clear: score points with both cars."

Fernando Alonso: "It was a bit of a mixed day for us. The Sprint went well this morning and we scored some good points. We were a little unlucky with the red flag when everyone changed to Mediums. Without that, I think we could have done even better. In Qualifying, it was more difficult because the Soft tyres didn't give me the confidence to really push. We are P11 though so we are in the fight for points tomorrow if we execute a clean race. Let's see what we can do."

Lance Stroll: "We qualified in P14 today: Q1 was feeling okay, I managed to get a clean lap in at the end and the car balance was feeling good. In Q2 I struggled with grip and just wasn't feeling the level of grip that I had in Q1. We will have to look into it and understand why so we can fight back tomorrow. It's another day and hopefully some opportunities come up ahead of us so we can make up some positions."

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer: "The short Interlagos layout always creates tight grids and close racing. Yesterday we executed the sessions well and scored three important points in the damp Sprint today. This afternoon's Qualifying session was exceptionally close with the entire grid covered by a second in Q1. Lance and Fernando progressed to Q2, but it was a tricky session, especially with the gusty conditions, and we were just a few hundredths shy of making Q3. The target tomorrow is to progress and compete for points. We will work hard tonight and take any opportunities in the race."

Ollie Bearman: "I had a great feeling from lap 1, but I was surprised by our competitiveness. We were P3 in Q1 and P2 in Q2, so we were very strong. In Q3, I thought my first lap was good but I didn't improve compared to what I had achieved in Q2, so it's a bit strange that it panned out like that, and the track wasn't evolving, but otherwise it was a really good qualifying for us. I'm excited for tomorrow – we showed great race pace in the Sprint, and starting in a good position for tomorrow is nice, I'm really looking forward to the race."

Esteban Ocon: "We're working as hard as we can as a team to find answers. The car was very difficult to drive, lacking balance, so it was a disappointing session. It's not from a lack of trying though, so I'm sure we'll find out the answer to this and get to where we should be. The Sprint was a race of survival. It was one of those where if you stay on track and finish the race, you usually gain some positions, but it was hard out there."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "Overall, it was a satisfying day. In the Sprint, we showed that in free air we had good pace. It was clear after that we needed to qualify well, and if we did, we should be able to have a good race on Sunday. Q1 is always the most difficult one because everyone is so close together, you can be P6 or P18, and there's not much in it. Ollie did an amazing job, so much so that we cancelled our final run in Q1 and saved one new set of tires for the rest of qualifying. Esteban had the tires, but his performance wasn't there, so we really need to understand that - we need both cars to be able to fight in the constructors' battle.

"In Q2, what can I say, Ollie's lap was sensational, and he essentially only needed that one lap to get into Q3. Then in the final stage of qualifying, I don't think we quite got our tire preparation right, but I think from what everyone saw out there today, it's so sensitive, and I think the team has done a great job. The opportunity is there tomorrow as we start from a decent position and have good pace, I'm looking forward to it."

Nico Hulkenberg: “It’s great to have made it to Q3 - for the first time this year - so that’s definitely something to be pleased about. That said, it wasn’t the easiest session. The wind made the car quite unpredictable and difficult to handle, and the balance was tricky throughout, which made it hard to really string the laps together. Still, we dug deep and got ourselves into the top ten, which is a solid result given the conditions. Earlier in the day, the Sprint had a disappointing outcome, but big credit to the team - they did a great job getting the car fixed and ready again in such a short amount of time. We’ve been working hard to improve the package, and it’s encouraging to see progress. Tomorrow looks like it’ll be a dry race, which could be a challenge, but we’ll give it everything. There are some fast cars behind, so we’ll need to be smart, stay clean, and try to capitalise on any opportunities. The target is always points, and we’ll fight hard to bring some home.”

Gabriel Bortoleto: "I was lucky and blessed to get away unharmed from my incident today; it was a huge crash, but I’m here standing on my own feet, and that shows not only how well these cars are built nowadays, but also the progress we have made through the years in terms of safety. I would like to thank our mechanics, who did everything they could to get me back on track for Qualifying. They worked super hard to rebuild my car from zero, and we almost made it in time. Obviously, I can't avoid being a bit disappointed not to have made it to quali at my first home Grand Prix – that’s a shame, because I really feel like our car was competitive enough to build something this weekend, as shown by Nico making it into Q3. But there’s still a race to do tomorrow. I just want to sit in the car, drive, give my best, and enjoy my time out there."

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: "First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the incredible effort from the entire crew in the garage today. Following Nico’s incident in the sprint race, they repaired his car during the red flag and then had to remove the gearbox to address another issue immediately afterward. On Gabi’s side of the garage, the team gave it absolutely everything, building up a new chassis, engine, and gearbox in a very short window after his crash in the sprint. We are all extremely relieved that he was uninjured, a testament to pioneering work carried out by the FIA and teams on safety. Ultimately, everything needed to go perfectly for the car to be ready for qualifying and one small issue meant it didn’t happen today, which was a shame for Gabi and the entire team after such an incredible effort.

“Looking at the positives, Nico had a smooth qualifying session and deservedly reached his first Q3 of the season, finishing P10. Considering the challenges we faced today, it is a very encouraging result, and I leave the circuit feeling proud of the team and optimistic about the race."

Pierre Gasly: “It's been a really good day with our first point since Spa in the Sprint Race this morning and then our first Q3 appearance since Silverstone in Qualifying in the afternoon. It's really pleasing to see we had the potential to be in the mix today which we will aim to take forwards to tomorrow for the main race. In the Sprint, I felt like I had a car which I could race with. I knew the point was close and I had to fight hard throughout and then go for it on Lance [Stroll] into Turn 1. It is just a point but it is a morale boost for everyone at the team. It's been difficult for us recently and we have some ideas on why we are competitive here but we really need to keep digging for some more answers. In Qualifying, we were only a few hundredths of a second to finishing in the top five. My last run definitely was not my strongest but, even so, we are starting inside the top ten and will aim to consolidate that tomorrow with the aim of another points scoring finish.”

Franco Colapinto: “First of all, a massive thank you to the team for repairing the car and getting me out in time for Qualifying. It was a great effort and I'm super grateful to them. We were running quite well in the Sprint in tricky conditions, but one of the cars ahead kicked up some water, which caught out a few cars and created a snowball effect. As soon as I touched the paint, I lost the car, which was a pity as we were having some nice battles and looked reasonably competitive. The car felt quite different to the one we had earlier in the weekend and generally I didn't feel as comfortable, and the performance wasn't there like we've seen at different stages of the weekend. Also well done to Pierre, who has been super strong this weekend. Getting a point in the Sprint and making Q3, it's a nice reward to the team for their hard work. Clearly there's pace in the car here, we just need to understand why we couldn't get the same feeling.”

Steve Nielsen, Managing Director: “Looking at how today unfolded, yes, we can be pleased with the result and how much more competitive we look here than in previous races. However, the other thing that really pleases me the most is how the team reacted to get Franco's car back out on track so quickly for Qualifying. A lot of their hard work goes unnoticed, and they kicked into gear immediately and basically did a full rebuild in the short gap between sessions, which not all teams managed to achieve. Kudos to them after what has been a long and tiring season, I know Franco was very grateful and went around thanking every team member. We know points have been hard to come by this season, so for Pierre to get a point in the Sprint and make it into Q3 is testament to how he's driving at the moment. With all the changes, Franco didn't feel as comfortable in the car, so we've got a bit of work to do overnight to see what improvements we can make.”