Lance was able to come through the order in the closing stages to take home a point in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Sebastian's strong afternoon was undone by a late Safety Car in another race of damage limitation for the team.
There was a lot going on in the race, but we were able to take some chances towards the end.
"There was a lot going on in the race, but we were able to take some chances towards the end.
"We did not have much pace with the Medium tyre earlier on in the race but the balance on the Soft was much better.
"It is a nice feeling to score a point after a challenging weekend as a whole but it is a shame that Alfa Romeo pulled a little bit further away from us in the Constructors' Championship today.
"It will be tough, but we will try and overhaul them in Abu Dhabi next weekend."
I had decent pace, but the timing of the second Safety Car did not go in my favour.
"I made a decent start but lost a couple of positions at the first pitstop and that started to reshape my afternoon.
"I had decent pace, but the timing of the second Safety Car did not go in my favour because I was on Mediums while a lot of cars around me were on Softs for the restart.
"It feels like we should have scored more points today – but, given how things played out, I do not think we could have done much more than we did.
"That is racing sometimes. We will go again in Abu Dhabi next week."
We come away encouraged by our pace and will go again one final time in Abu Dhabi.
"This was a thrilling race on a fantastic racetrack in front of a terrific crowd – but, despite running in the top 10 for the entire afternoon and coming home with a valuable World Championship point, things did not really work out for us today.
"Sebastian raced hard on a two-stop strategy, running as high as third, but the timings of the Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car really played against him today.
"From 15th, Lance made another customary blistering start and was able to run on the edge of the top 10, ultimately scoring a point.
"I want to thank both drivers' teamwork today – Lance helped Sebastian to gain ground after his second stop; then Sebastian moved aside to let Lance challenge Valtteri [Bottas] for ninth place.
"We come away encouraged by our pace and will go again one final time in Abu Dhabi next weekend."
Expect plenty of moves to be made throughout the race and in the Sprint. Oval-like circuit characteristics, high tyre wear and tricky braking zones into Turns One and Four all promote overtaking. In fact, over 80 percent of moves are done into T1 or T4 – the end-points of the two long DRS zones.
The Safety Car often gets used at Interlagos, with 10 appearances in the last five races. The very wet 2016 race featured no fewer than six SC periods. With a low pit-lane time-loss, it is often beneficial to stop during an interruption. VSCs are much less frequent, with the two appearances both coming in 2021.
This is regularly a two-stop race due to the ease of overtaking and tyre wear, with Pirelli bringing the C2, C3 and C4 compounds for the last time in 2022. The weather can change in an instant and can cause mayhem during a race weekend, keeping every strategist and mechanic on their toes.
A lap begins immediately with the tricky ‘S' do Senna, named after the Brazilian icon. This is a tricky downhill left-right chicane that merges into the long Curva do Sol.
Heavy braking takes place incredibly late – after the 50-metre board, with drivers decelerating and turning into the cambered, blind-apexed corner, making it easy to lock up. The second part is easy to get wrong by taking too much kerb.
Turn 10 – Bico de Pato – is a tricky little hairpin at the end of a sequence of punishing long bends. This is another corner where it is easy to lock a wheel and run wide and this compromises the exit massively.
The last notable corner – Juncao, Turn 12, has been the scene where races and even a World Championship have been decided. The approach is downhill before a climb up to the corner itself. Deceptively tight, this turn needs to be mastered because of the long, uphill blast to the finish line that follows.
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