P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Max Verstappen will be hoping for rain to aid his sprint cause in São Paulo.
Helmut Marko expressed doubt about Max Verstappen’s chances of reaching the podium in the São Paulo sprint race unless rain intervenes to help the Red Bull driver. Verstappen faced car balance issues during qualifying, barely making it into the top-10 shootout. Despite qualifying sixth for the 24-lap event at Interlagos, he trailed polesitter Lando Norris by a significant margin. The RB21 showed strong performance in sectors one and three but struggled with lack of grip in the twisty second sector, affecting Verstappen’s lap times. Marko acknowledged the downforce deficiency in the middle sector, indicating it cannot be fixed for the sprint race but expressing hope for improvements based on data analysis. The potential silver lining for Verstappen lies in the predicted heavy rain during the event, reminiscent of his remarkable victory from 17th on the grid in similar conditions last year. Marko emphasized that rain would be crucial for Verstappen to have any chance at securing a podium finish.
