F1 Brazil GP LIVE: Sprint race schedule and start time as Oscar Piastri starts on pole

Sainz gets himself safe, in P4, with Leclerc up to P2.

Current bottom-five (16-20): Alonso, Bottas, Stroll, Zhou, Colapinto

2:00 to go. And there’s a big queue in the pit-lane!

Six minutes in, six minutes to go and Carlos Sainz - last week’s winner in Mexico - is in the bottom-five at the moment in P18!

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also living dangerously in P14!

Current bottom-five (16-20): Bottas, Stroll, Sainz, Zhou, Colapinto

Top-3: Piastri, Hulkenberg, Lawson

With dark clouds overhead, we are underway with SQ1 in Sao Paulo!

12 minutes, every car on medium tyres, and we will lose the slowest five drivers here!

Christian Horner was spotted visiting Williams at the Brazil Grand Prix, according to ESPN Argentina.

Franco Colapinto has been linked with Red Bull and footage of the team principal further intensified the gossip in the paddock.

Colapinto will be swapped out by Williams for Carlos Sainz, leaving the Argentine with an uncertain future.

Red Bull has not finalised the lineup for their sister team VCARB after Daniel Ricciardo was dropped.

Liam Lawson’s contract expires at the end of this season and he could jump to Red Bull to displace Sergio Perez, making Colapinto an intriguing option.

F1 journalist Phillip Horton reports James Vowles has explained Christian Horner's visit due to the Red Bull chief’s desire to sample coffee sponsor's products.

Max Verstappen has hit out at Johnny Herbert over what he describes as “extreme accusations”.

It comes after Herbert accused the Red Bull star of driving “over the top” with his aggressive style an “absolute no-no.”

“Well, now you know where he stands,” Verstappen said. “It’s pretty abnormal for him to say this, right?

“People act like I’m doing it all on purpose. But they can’t see inside my head. They are pretty extreme accusations. Yes, we raced hard. That’s right. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”

“We’re doing our best to rebuild his confidence,” Horner says when pushed on Perez’s future.

“He had a horrible weekend in Mexico, it’s an older chassis, to give him that boost of confidence he’s a seasoned campaigner, he knows it’s a results-based business.

“This season has been under par, nobody is more acutely aware of this than Sergio, we’re trying our best to support him.”

The sprint format continues in Formula 1 this weekend as the Brazilian Grand Prix hosts the fifth sprint weekend of the 2024 season.

The sprint was first introduced in 2021 at Silverstone as a way of making more sessions over the course of the weekend competitive, with the target of driving interest in F1. In 2021 and 2022, there were three sprints a year.

The 2023 season introduced a new format. The number of sprint races were doubled to six, while Saturday was designed ‘sprint day’ - with a new “sprint shootout” qualifying session determining the grid for the sprint race. In addition, the result of the sprint race had no baring on the grand prix on Sunday.

However, the format has been tweaked again in 2024 and we will see it in action at Interlagos.

Lando Norris finished second in Mexico City, with MAx Verstappen only able to manage sixth, allowing the British driver to move to 47 points behind in the title race with 120 to play for.

Norris described Verstappen’s driving during the race as “dangerous”, while McLaren CEO Zak Brown said the Dutchman’s attempts to keep his driver behind were “ridiculous”, adding “enough is enough”.

Norris revealed here that he has not exchanged a word with Verstappen in the 96 hours since their on-track clash.

“We’ve not spoken and I don’t think we need to,” he said. “I’ve got nothing to say. I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does. Not respect for what he did last weekend, but respect for him as a person and what he has achieved.

“But it’s not for me to speak to him. I’m not his teacher, I’m not his mentor. Max knows what he has to do. He knows he did wrong. Deep down he does. And it’s for him to change, not for me.

“The stewards did a good job. I think 99 per cent of people who watch Formula One and know Formula One agree with that. I don’t know what to expect this weekend. Obviously I hope for a cleaner battle than we had. But it’s not up to me.”

Max Verstappen said he is a “three-time world champion who knows what I am doing” after Damon Hill accused him of acting like Wacky Races villain Dick Dastardly.

A fired-up Verstappen also hit back at his critics for being “bias” and “very annoying” after his driving tactics were placed in the spotlight following his combined 20-second penalty for forcing rival Lando Norris off twice in Mexico.

Responding to Hill’s comments, Verstappen said: “I don’t listen to those individuals. I just do my thing. I am a three-time world champion. It is my 10th year in Formula One. I know what I am doing.

“I listen to people that are close to me and objective and not just there to stir the…I cannot say the word because I will get another (penalty).

“Some people are being very annoying, and I know who those people are and I don’t pay attention to them. Some people are biased, it is fine, and it is not my problem at the end of the day. I continue with my life and I keep performing.”

Max Verstappen has been hit by a five-place grid penalty for the Brazil Grand Prix.

Red Bull put a new engine in his car ahead of the race in Sao Paulo and left the garage early in practice on Friday. The Dutch driver will hope to see results in Friday’s sprint qualifying ahead of the sprint race on Saturday.

It is the third penalty in two races for Verstappen after two 10-second penalties in Mexico due to separate incidents with title rival Lando Norris.