Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team driver Sebastian Vettel will start the 2021 São Paulo Grand Prix in tenth after moving up one position in the F1 Sprint.
Lance also gained one position thanks to strong tyre management and a calculated overtake on Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda on the final lap to finish 14th.
Sebastian
A strong start moved Sebastian up into ninth position heading into Turn One, where he raced comfortably in the opening stages of the F1 Sprint.
Having passed Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian expertly fended off the latter while remaining in pursuit of the former's teammate Esteban Ocon.
With a resurgent Lewis Hamilton fast approaching, Sebastian held off the Mercedes for two laps before the reigning Champion eventually made his move on lap 15.
From there, Sebastian remained in pursuit of Ocon, with the Frenchman finishing just 0.235 seconds ahead at the chequered flag.
São Paulo Grand Prix
Formula One returns to Brazil for the first time since 2019, and there's an extra twist as the F1 Sprint format makes its third and final outing of the year. A venue steeped in history, combined with an experimental take on future Grand Prix racing formats, make Interlagos the perfect host for an exciting late-season showdown.
“I made a good start and gained a couple of places, but we had to fight hard to stay there with fast cars, such as the McLaren [of Daniel Ricciardo], behind us. I was in the train of cars, benefiting from the DRS, which certainly helped.
"The race pace was decent but starting on the Medium meant that we were faster towards the end [compared with those on Softs].
"I think it will be similar tomorrow. It is a long race, and we will need to fight hard to score points because there are some quicker cars, including Lewis [Hamilton], behind us."
Lance
Lance also made a solid start, holding his P15 starting position with the two Alfa Romeo cars ahead of him and the two Williams drivers behind.
As the race progressed, Lance built on his early pace to pull clear of Nicholas Latifi in P15 and edge towards Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda ahead.
Lance continued to chase down the Japanese driver for the duration of the race, before making a final push on the final lap to claim P14 at the flag.
São Paulo GP through the lens of Conor McDonnell
Globally-renowned photographer and Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team fan, Conor McDonnell, is embedded with the team at Interlagos this weekend to capture a different angle of the Brazilian Grand Prix and tell a different story from inside the F1 Paddock.
“We have moved up a place for tomorrow’s race, which is a positive. There was not a lot of action around us at the start, so we were still P15 after the first lap. Then, at the end, [Yuki] Tsunoda started to suffer on the Softs in front of us, while we had managed our Mediums pretty well.
"He lost DRS from the car in front of him and we got him on the last lap, so I think it was probably the right thing to do [starting on the Mediums].
"It was tough to overtake today, but it is a long race and anything can happen at this circuit, so maybe there will be a few opportunities for us tomorrow. We will see what we can do from P14 and aim to make up a few places."
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