Sao Paulo GP Sprint: Max Verstappen holds off Lando Norris to win last sprint of the season

Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen won the Sao Paulo sprint on Saturday, taking the lead from McLaren's Lando Norris at the first corner.

Norris, who started on pole with Verstappen alongside, finished second and 4.287 seconds later, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez starting and finishing third after dropping to fifth on the opening lap.

Verstappen won the sixth and final sprint of the season on a hot and dry day at Interlagos after Friday's wind and rain.

The Dutch 26-year-old will start from pole position on Sunday in search of a record-extending 17th grand prix win of the season that would bring his career total to 52, one short of retired four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.

Both championships have already been won by him and Red Bull.

Norris claimed he lost speed near the end due to tyre degradation.

"Max had that little bit extra always in the bag, the Red Bull's race pace and Max's race pace is just a little bit too strong for us. I tried and for a few moments thought 'I could be close here' but then just didn't quite have enough." said the Briton.

Last year's sprint champion in Brazil, George Russell, finished fourth for Mercedes, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc fifth and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda sixth for his team's first sprint points.

In addition, the three points moved AlphaTauri ahead of Alfa Romeo in the battle for eighth place in the constructors' standings.

Mercedes' seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished seventh, falling back in his battle for championship runner-up with Perez, and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz took the final point in the standalone 24-lap 100km race at the Interlagos circuit.

While Verstappen had an uneventful race due to the soft tyres, there were plenty of battles to watch behind him.

Russell and Hamilton both passed Perez on the first lap, with Russell also passing Norris for second before the McLaren driver reclaimed the position on lap five and put clear air between himself and those behind.

Perez passed Hamilton for fourth on lap four, then battled Russell for third until making a move stick on lap ten.

Hamilton was also passed by Leclerc and Tsunoda on a difficult afternoon for Mercedes, which team boss Toto Wolff described as a "bruising day."

Daniel Ricciardo of AlphaTauri fought Sainz for the final point, passing him twice and then losing a position to rookie compatriot Oscar Piastri, Norris' teammate, before regaining it to finish ninth.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso moved up from 15th to 11th, while teammate Lance Stroll finished 12th after starting 17th.

In Sunday's race, the pair will start from the second row.

SportsLigue