Max Verstappen could only finish the Brazil GP Sprint race at P4 after not being able to manage tyres as he got attacked by Mercedes’ George Russell.
While many had predicted yet another win for the Red Bull F1 team, Russell delivered an impressive performance and secured the first win of the season for Mercedes.
Russell passed the Dutchman to increase his lead and soon after that Verstappen was taken over by Carlos Sainz in Ferrari and then by Lewis Hamilton.
Also Read: Mercedes engineer explains why Max Verstappen endured difficult F1 Sprint at Interlagos
Front-row lockout by Mercedes
However, going into the main race day, the newly-crowned 2-time champion’s P4 finish will be translated into P3 as Sainz is set to suffer a 5-place grid penalty for taking a new ICE.
This also means that the Mercedes has locked the front row and if everything works out for them, the team might even be able to win their first GP of the 2022 season.
The moment @GeorgeRussell63 snatched the lead from Max Verstappen! 🤯💪#BrazilGP #F1Sprint @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/cWzpvGsd1Q
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 12, 2022
Post the Sprint race in Brazil GP, Verstappen labelled the W13 as unbeatable as he found himself struggling to make a move on them.
Max Verstappen suffered a damaged front wing
The Red Bull driver was one of the two drivers on the grid with medium tyres and as he faced an attack from Russell he could not defend himself.
Verstappen believes that even on soft tyres, he would not have been able to able to secure victory because he wasn’t fast enough.
Furthermore, as Verstappen slid down the grid he was involved in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Sainz and that led to a collision.
At turn 1, the Spanish driver crashed into the RB18’s right-rear wheel and broke a tiny bit of the end plate.
Sainz described the incident as a racing incident as there was no major damage to either driver.
Also Read: Red Bull chief explains why Max Verstappen didn’t swap positions with Sergio Perez at Interlagos