SAO PAULO: World champion Lewis Hamilton on Friday dominated qualifying for the sprint race at the Brazil Grand Prix but title rival Max Verstappen will be right on his shoulder on Saturday.
Red Bull’s Verstappen has a 19-point lead over the seven-time world champion who will take a five-place grid penalty on Sunday after the engine was changed on his Mercedes.
“I’m so happy to be back in Brazil. Just a big thank you to all the team, they’ve been working flat-out. Today was a really good qualifying,” said Hamilton.
“It’s been so long since it’s like the first time,” added the 36-year-old who hadn’t set the fastest time in qualifying since Hungary in August.
However, aware that Verstappen has won the last two races in the United States and Mexico, he added to Sky Sports: “I don’t know how we can go from one track where they are half a second quicker to this.”
The Briton posted a fastest time of 1min 07.934sec, four tenths quicker than his Dutch rival.
The 24-lap sprint race on Saturday will determine the starting order for Sunday’s race at Interlagos. The winner receives three points.
“When they take a new engine naturally they have a bit more power for the weekend, so for me it’s not a big shock,” said Verstappen.
“I’m just happy to be second. It’s a good position to start from — we want to be closer, but sometimes you have to be realistic and I don’t think there was any more in it.
“There’s not that many points in the sprint race so I hope to have good first lap and of course start from first on Sunday.”
After Sunday’s race, only three rounds remain in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
The two title rivals’ right-hand men Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez will start on the second row on Saturday.
Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, McLaren pair Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo and also two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, in an Alpine, fill out the top ten.
Earlier on Friday, Mercedes announced that Hamilton would be penalized five places on the grid after his fifth new engine of the season.
“Lewis has taken a new Internal Combustion Engine for this event — his fifth of the season — and will take a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s #BrazilGP,” his Mercedes team tweeted.
His latest five-place sanction, however, will not apply in Saturday’s sprint.
Despite the impending penalty, Hamilton was also fastest in opening practice Friday with Verstappen at 0.367sec behind.
Perez, at 0.442sec, and Bottas, at 0.517sec off the lead, filled out the top four.
Lewis Hamilton gains Brazil Grand Prix sprint edge ahead of grid penalty
https://arab.news/cgt67
Lewis Hamilton gains Brazil Grand Prix sprint edge ahead of grid penalty
- The Briton posted a fastest time of 1min 07.934sec, four tenths quicker than his Dutch rival Max Verstappen
Golf Saudi ambassador Charley Hull seals thrilling victory to clinch PIF Saudi Ladies International
- World No. 5’s 60-foot eagle proves decisive in dramatic final round surge
RIYADH: Charley Hull carded a seven-under 65 in the final round of the $5 million PIF Saudi Ladies International to be crowned the champion of the Ladies European Tour season opener.
Hull proved her affection for Riyadh Golf Club once again — she previously won here in 2024 and three further top 10s in the Saudi capital — scrambling through a packed field, posting seven birdies and an eagle on the par five 12th courtesy of a 60-foot putt.
The 29-year-old, who now has five LET wins to her name, had a nervy wait after holing a birdie putt on her 72nd hole of the week to post the clubhouse lead in the first PIF Global Series event of the year.
Clutching the trophy, Hull said: “I feel great, and I love this golf course, and I like how it’s really matured over the years. It’s getting trickier each year. The grass is getting thicker, and I just really like it. It was a good challenge.
“I’ve worked really hard this off-season, so it’s nice to see results straight away. It’s one of the bigger events on the LET, and it feels like a home event for me because I’m a Golf Saudi ambassador. So, it’s really special to win for my sponsors.”
South Africa’s Casandra Alexander made her own back-nine charge for the title, birdieing four out of a five-hole stretch between 11-15. A bogey on the par three 17th left the 26-year-old, who contested a Sunshine Tour playoff just last week, needing a birdie to force another one, but the crucial putt missed its mark, finishing runner-up for the second week in a row alongside Japan’s Akie Iwai.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda made a consistent start to the season with an opening round of 67, followed by three 68s to tie for fourth with third-round co-leader Hye-Jin Choi from Korea.
England’s prodigious Mimi Rhodes, who led the field after the first two rounds but lost ground with a score of level par on Friday, rallied with a convincing five-under par 67 to finish joint sixth.
The PIF Global Series heads to Las Vegas for its second stop, making a historic West Coast debut. This event signals the first time both the PIF Global Series and the Aramco Championship will be hosted in the region, bringing elite-level competition to one of the world’s premier sports and entertainment destinations. Scheduled from April 2–5, the tournament will see players competing for a prestigious $4 million prize fund.
