Brazil GP | What Max Verstappen's disastrous Sprint Race on the Medium tyre taught us

Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing gambled in the Sprint Race that would determine the starting grid for today's Brazilian Grand Prix. While all the drivers opted to race the 24-lap (100km) Sprint Race on the Soft tyre, the 2022 F1 World Champion and Williams' Nicholas Latifi were the only two to start on the Medium tyre.

It was believed that the Soft tyre might be overextended en route to the end of the Sprint Race; hence Red Bull went for the conservative approach. And their approach was understandable, given the RB18's dominance in 2022 and the driver's ability to extract maximum performance from his car.

Only, he failed to do so. Verstappen's car struggled with understeer and drivability issues, all of which contributed to the Medium tyre losing performance far quicker than expected. It allowed Mercedes-AMG's George Russell to pass his rival for the lead and take the win. Contact with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, resulting in front wing damage, further hindered the RB18's performance.

What we know going into the Grand Prix

With the 71-lap race looming today, teams will use the data they gathered from the Sprint Race to their advantage. And simulations of both Verstappen and Latifi's performance could potentially determine how their own races play out and the tyre strategies that will come into play during the race.

Ahead of each race, race strategists simulate the fastest flag-to-flag race, what tyre to start on, how many pitstops to bank on, and factor in the unknown variables - like a safety car - that could also come into play. The same applies to today's Brazilian Grand Prix.

If the Grand Prix goes smoothly for any one driver, the fastest way to finish the race would be to start on the Soft tyre and perform two pit stops