F1 Live | Second free practice for the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix

Liveblog | FP2 for the São Paulo Grand Prix

The end of the season is slowly approaching and because of that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will want to get as many points as possible for the championship. The winner of the sprint qualifying that takes place later today gets three points. That may not seem like a lot, but it could be decisive at the end of the season.

Pole for Verstappen?

In the first free practice for qualifying Red Bull Racing was dominant. It looked like Verstappen was going to take pole easily, especially since Hamilton was not happy with his front suspension. The Brit managed to get pole position, but Verstappen can still get pole for the race during the sprint qualifying because Hamilton takes a five place penalty for the race grid. It is therefore very important for both Verstappen and Hamilton to get a good start. It is also to be hoped that there will be few problems. Since qualifying for the sprint race took place yesterday, the cars are in parc fermé, so there are few adjustments that can be made.

Sprint race weekends

This is the third and final sprint race weekend of the 2021 season. They were introduced as a test, and it's worked relatively well. There are mixed reviews, but they will continue in 2021. We expect six sprint race weekends next year, but the circuits are still unknown. Previously, the sprint races were held at Silverstone and Monza. 
Those two events saw title rivals Hamilton and Verstappen crash into each other.

At the British Grand Prix, the two drivers touched at high speed and Verstappen ended up going into the barrier. Hamilton went on to win his home event. The Dutchman required a precautionary hospital check-up but left the hospital on the same day. The second crash resulted in both drivers recording a DNF. Verstappen touched the kerb at turn one. His car launched in the air and landed on top of the Mercedes car. 

Overall in 2021, Verstappen has a 19 point lead in the World Championship and is the favourite to extend that gap before the final three races. After Brazil, the Formula 1 circuit will travel to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi to finish the season. Despite either being brand new to F1 or containing new alterations, those three circuits are expected to favour the Mercedes car.