The hope and alarm Mercedes faces versus Red Bull in Brazil

Although Mercedes has been mired in controversy for much of Formula 1’s 2021 Interlagos weekend, it still ended the sprint race in an excellent position. There are signs it could be in for repeat glory in the grand prix, while others highlight major dangers that favour Red Bull

"Today was a good day," Valtteri Bottas said after adding sprint race glory in Brazil to his triumph in Monza back in September. At least this time he'll be rewarded with the pole stat (that should technically go to Max Verstappen and, arguably, controversially, to Lewis Hamilton) and not just a sponsor memento.

"And I am also pleased that Lewis could get up to fifth place so that gives him plenty of opportunities for [the grand prix]," Bottas continued. "And that means we can still, even with the issues of this weekend, have a great result [when it matters]."

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.