00:00It is time to look to the lights.
00:03We're underway and sprinting to turn number one.
00:07Oscar Piastri gets the launch he needs.
00:09Can Max Verstappen put any pressure on Lando Norris?
00:11Not at this stage. McLaren 1-2 as we drop down.
00:14The Senaresses, Piastri with the advantage.
00:16Charles Leclerc hanging on to third place.
00:18The top four in the order that they left the grid
00:20as we make our way through turn number three.
00:22And the cars get up to speed.
00:24It's a dream getaway for the two McLarens.
00:26Exactly what they needed and how aggressive will Verstappen go
00:29up against Charles Leclerc.
00:30It's one point bonus if he can get past a McLaren 1-2
00:33with Piastri holding the way at the moment
00:36as we begin lap one of 24.
00:39It's Piastri, then Norris, then Leclerc, then Verstappen, then Sainz.
00:43So an even start between the two McLarens.
00:46Piastri chopping across and it's line of stern stuff
00:48down to turn number one.
00:49Russell with a poor getaway left invulnerable to Gasly
00:52and a lockup for Max Verstappen.
00:55One McLaren is catching.
00:56One Red Bull is catching the Ferrari.
00:58Let's see if Max Verstappen can use that DRS to make the move
01:01and improve up to third.
01:02How aggressive will Charles Leclerc go into the braking zone?
01:06Driver's eye view as we make our way into the first two corners
01:09of the racetrack.
01:10Still going to have a chance on the way down to four.
01:11That's what's so great about this track, Alex,
01:14is it gives you these multiple opportunities.
01:16Max is going to have DRS back down into turn four.
01:19Is Norris getting closer?
01:19But here he goes.
01:20Looks down the inside.
01:21Not quite close enough.
01:22Oh, it's a lunge, but it's a lunge that he knows he can't afford to rip off a front wing
01:27or a wheel.
01:28If he does so, Lando Norris would be in a great position to gain eight points on him in the
01:33Drivers' World Championship.
01:35Haas versus Haas. Late lunge.
01:38Chance converted there.
01:40That was very, very tight stuff between the two Haases ahead.
01:43And Behrmann manages to get by under pressure from Sergio Perez.
01:47And Perez now is chasing Hülkenberg as the 19-year-old shows why he's got a full-time drive next
01:53year.
01:53And Perez makes it two positions lost in a couple of corners for Nico Hülkenberg.
01:58That was synchronized stuff between the two Haases into turn one.
02:03Further back, this is Sergio Perez battling Liam Lawson.
02:07And we knew it was going to be an interesting one.
02:09Lock up from Perez, let Lawson back through.
02:12And that's how he is still in eighth position.
02:16And we are focusing on Charles Leclerc dropping back into the clutches of Max Verstappen.
02:21Best chance by a mile for the World Championship leader to finally make that pass for third position.
02:26Charles Leclerc hugs the inside, but Max Verstappen powers through.
02:30And the World Championship leader minimizes the damage.
02:33Next car up the road, the only driver who is close to him in the battle to take his crown.
02:40Perez looking for it.
02:41Bringing the noise, bringing the overtake and bringing the crowd to their feet outside our commentary box window.
02:48Sergio Perez up five places now and past Liam Lawson.
02:54That's okay Nico, we need to stop the car, stop the car.
02:57That is the Haas stopping.
02:59And where has he stopped?
03:00Because it could be an intervention from a virtual safety car or a full safety car.
03:04Hülkenberg has come to a halt outside of turn number 10.
03:08Lewis Hamilton is to the inside of the Haas of Oliver Behrman.
03:12Two passes in two laps.
03:13And Lando Norris is the driver.
03:15Currently a second back from Oscar Piastri.
03:17But will he get an opportunity if race control have to intervene and neutralize the race?
03:22Hamilton climbs to P11.
03:24And it's a yellow flag at the moment on lap 21 and 24.
03:28And still McLaren run with Oscar Piastri in the lead.
03:31Lando Norris in second place.
03:33Max Verstappen out of DRS range, but not by much, by 1.4 seconds.
03:38He's two tenths of a second away now under braking into turn number one.
03:41And the yellow flag is still a yellow flag.
03:45If that gets upgraded to a greater intervention,
03:48McLaren will rue swapping.
03:50And they will not take that risk immediately.
03:53McLaren give the call to Oscar Piastri to prioritize the highest McLaren driver
03:58in the Drivers World Championship.
04:00And after all of the speculation, all of the debate,
04:03Piastri plays the team game and Lando Norris leads.
04:07The virtual safety car is out.
04:08It is now deployed.
04:10And McLaren took the risk.
04:13McLaren, get away with it.
04:16It's all about how you respond to the green flag waving once again in Sao Paulo.
04:20And that looks like a good anticipation of it for Max Verstappen,
04:24who's pulling out of the slipstream, going to the inside.
04:27And he did not have the run.
04:29Piastri picked his braking point perfectly.
04:32I'm not sure if the green flag that we saw on the pylon is exactly timed to what the drivers
04:36saw,
04:37because if so, Max was trying to anticipate it.
04:39And it was just a fraction of a second too late.
04:41He had to back out of it.
04:42Either way, they hold station.
04:44Top three positions unchanged.
04:46Verstappen was lining it up and then waiting to see whether there was a chance.
04:51And he took no risks.
04:52No point in getting a penalty.
04:53No point in having time added on.
04:56Charles Leclerc is within five seconds of the driver that he is behind.
05:01My word, there was a lot to talk about there.
05:03Not all of it motor racing, but McLaren in the end will get the result that they want it.
05:07It's a 1-2 with Lando Norris at the front of the field.
05:12The crowd will cheer him home for the first time in Formula One.
05:15Lando Norris wins a sprint race.
05:17He takes the chequered flag to make it a McLaren 1-2.
05:20Piastri finds himself in second place, having responded to that team order.
05:25And it's a two-point swing towards Norris in the Drivers' World Championship.
05:29It's a hugely significant moment in the Constructors' Championship,
05:32because McLaren have outscored Red Bull and Ferrari with both cars.
05:38Lando Norris with help from teammate Oscar Piastri taking his first win in the sprint format.
05:44Max Verstappen with a good pass on Charles Leclerc to relegate the Monogas driver down to fourth.
Comments