REPORT: São Paulo Sprint on rain-hit Saturday

There was only one Saturday session for Williams Racing after heavy rain postponed Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix.

Regardless of the inclement afternoon conditions, the packed grandstands did enjoy earlier racing action as Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto contested the Sprint race.

We had another top-10 finish, courtesy of Alex's P10, with Franco gaining places to cross the line in P12.

A 24-lap run to the chequered flag had both Williams Racing cars biding their time to maximise the medium Pirelli tyre compounds, and both drivers finished strong.

Alex had a busy opening lap, battling against both Haas drivers and Liam Lawson's VCARB throughout Interlagos' 15 corners, and dropped to P11.

Franco, meanwhile, gained a place to be P13 after the first tour and chased Sergio Perez, who sat between the two FW46 machines.

Perez benefitted from DRS to pass Alex, leaving our duo running line astern, as both managed their tyres to ensure they'd last the distance.

Their patience paid off as Perez dispatched the Haas pair, who soon fell into Alex's clutches.

Steadily closing the gap, Alex soon reached the tail of Nico Hulkenberg as he and Ollie Bearman's grip fell away in the closing laps.

Franco, who had dropped behind Lewis Hamilton, also kept close to the American team's two drivers, even while fending off Esteban Ocon behind.

Alex enjoyed two Sector 1 scraps with Hulkenberg, then Bearman on successive laps to jump to P10, while Franco benefited from the German driver retiring on Lap 21 without needing to fight.

Passing Bearman would require our Argentinian's wheel-to-wheel skills, though, but Franco had to remain patient as the stewards brought out a VSC to recover Hulkenberg's stranded car.

There was no time to waste for Franco, though, who aced his restart and swiftly overtook the British driver on the start-finish straight as soon as the green flags waved.

That quick reaction time meant another place for Franco, who now has two P12 finishes from his two Sprint races.

We have more time to check the data from the Sprint without Qualifying, and with Alex setting the second-fastest lap of the Sprint race, there are positive signs for Sunday.