Live F1 | The sprint shootout during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend

F1 LIVE | Sprint shootout: Brazil 

As in the other sprint shootouts, drivers in SQ1 and SQ2 will use medium tyres. The top drivers who manage to get in Saturday's final qualifying session will be able to use soft tyres during their eight-minute session.

On Friday - without setting a fast time on the weekend's softest available compound in the first and only free practice session - Verstappen secured the number one position in qualifying for Sunday's race. Next to him is Charles Leclerc. The second starting row consists of the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, respectively.

Yet we can expect a completely different qualifying 'sprint-shootout'. Temperatures are considerably lower than a day earlier, and that may make for a completely different order. Stay updated with all the action from Sao Paulo via our liveblog. 

Perez must score

Sergio Perez made a mistake in his home race and, therefore, did not score any points for the world championship. His lead over current number three Lewis Hamilton shrank by 19 points. There's a gap of only 20 points, with only three races and a sprint remaining. Will Red Bull take a one-two lead in the World Championship among the drivers for the first time in their history?

In any case, the 33-year-old will have to keep Hamilton behind him. That will not be an easy task because the seven-time world champion seems to be feeling better and better in his car, and his gap would have been much smaller if he had not been disqualified in the United States. Perhaps he would be leading without the DNF in Qatar as well.

Max Verstappen is good at the Interlagos circuit, but he has only won once: in 2019. The last two editions of the Brazilian GP were won by Mercedes, so Red Bull will once again take the German team into account. 

In 2021, Valtteri Bottas won the sprint race, and Lewis Hamilton won the race on Sunday. Last season, George Russell won both races and Red Bull - despite high expectations - was not involved. The fact that Mercedes won in 2022 can be called remarkable because the W13 underperformed all year. This year's W14 is much more competitive, so we can expect Mercedes to be at the front again.

At the same time, we should not discount Ferrari and McLaren because both teams showed last weekend in Mexico that they are still at the front. Charles Leclerc took pole position, while Lando Norris managed to move from P17 to P5 after a disappointing qualifying. For Oscar Piastri, driving at Interlagos will be a new experience. As a rookie, he has never raced in Sao Paulo before.