Tag Archives: Brazilian Grand Prix

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Sao Paulo — Results & aftermath

Russell takes first F1 win in Sao Paulo, Hamilton P2 to extend Mercedes’ late season surge; Sainz P3 for Ferrari ahead of Leclerc; Verstappen vociferously refuses to help teammate Perez

Mercedes up and coming young driver George Russell made good on the team’s constant faith in his talents and earned his first Formula 1 victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday. Spearheading a late season charge by the Silver Arrows, Russell started first on the grid after winning Saturday’s Sprint race and then survived an incident-filled 71-laps on the short and tricky Interlagos circuit to break his duck and claim his maiden F1 win. Better still for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton was able to survive early contact with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to come home P2, proving that the recent improved showing by the W13 were not just flukes due to the thinner atmosphere in Mexico City or a unique synergy between driver and track after Hamilton’s excellent showing at COTA in the USGP. After struggling mightily with porpoising to begin the campaign under the new aero specs and then being simply too draggy to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari until really the latter third of the season, Mercedes’ advancements might be too little too late for this year but bode well for a more competitive, possible 3-team competition in 2023. Hamilton and Verstappen also collided after a Safety Car restart on Lap 7, with neither car badly damaged but Verstappen requiring a new front wing and receiving a 5-second penalty as the guilty party, there were certainly shades of last year’s epic tense and testy season-long duel. Let’s hope it’s foreshadowing for next year.

Behind the top two Mercs there was a ton of tension and intrigue. Ferrari managed to come home with Carlos Sainz in P3 and Charles Leclerc in P4 after somehow recovering from a Lap 7 coming together with McLaren’s Lando Norris just after the Hamilton-Verstappen kerfuffle. It was an impressive rally from the Monegasque, whose Prancing Horse at first looked to be in real trouble after spearing into the barriers. While both Leclerc and his F1-75 proved resilient as they fought their way forward, less impressive was his repeated requests to the Ferrari pit wall to tell Sainz to let him by for the extra points. While it’s understandable that Leclerc would want every available advantage to try and secure second in the Drivers’ championship, bumping his teammate from a podium was never going to fly and simply made Leclerc seem a little whiny and desperate.

But that was nothing compared to what went down late race at team Red Bull. With Verstappen’s race compromised because of that early clash with Hamilton, it seemed that Perez might have the best opportunity to spoil Mercedes’ day. But the team had kept Perez out on Medium tires late in the race and the Mexican was forced to defend rather than attack, as Sainz came upon him after another Safety Car period ended on Lap 59 on fresher and superior Soft tire. Despite his best efforts, the veteran Mexican was easy meat for Sainz, the Spaniard making the overtake on Lap 63, a lap after DRS had been re-enabled. Worse still, Leclerc followed suit a lap later and the Alpine of Fernando Alonso also scooted by him on Lap 65. At this point, Verstappen had caught also up to Perez and the team somewhat curiously told Perez to let Max through to “take some points off Alonso and Leclerc”. But, despite the fact that Verstappen couldn’t make anything happen with that theory and stayed stuck in P6, the current World Champion then inexplicably refused direct team orders to hand the place back to Perez to finish out the race. That proved pivotal in the Drivers’ Standings, because while Leclerc salvaged P4 after his stressful adventures on the day, Perez sank to P7 behind his not-very-team oriented teammate Verstappen. The resultant points scoring on the day put Leclerc and Perez into a tie with 290 points, but Leclerc would earn the tiebreaker if it remained that way because he has more wins on the season. It remains to be seen if Verstappen, who many are theorizing still holds a grudge for Perez bringing out the Red Flag way back at Monaco qualifying to deny the Dutchman pole, will feel he’s made his point and go back to aiding Perez’s quest for P2 in the Championship at the last race in Abu Dhabi. However things turn out at Yas Marina next week, Verstappen’s diva-like behavior in Sao Paulo will likely not be forgotten by the popular Perez or by his legions of Mexican and non-Mexican fans. Frankly, there’s no putting that particular toothpaste back in the tube and it could cast Perez’s continued membership on the Red Bull team into some serious doubt.

With the two Alpine’s of Alonso and Esteban Ocon playing reasonably nice for a change, the team had a very good day at the races. First and foremost was Alonso’s most impressive drive. Staring from P17 on the grid behind Ocon after the pair had tangled multiple times in the Sprint race, the Spanish two-time World Champ put in a brilliant effort to come home all the way up in P5 and ahead of both Red Bulls. Combined with Ocon’s solid P8 and a double DNF for McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, who knocked out Haas’ Kevin Magnussen along with himself on the opening lap, and Lando Norris, whose car died on Lap 52 bringing out the final Safety Car, it made for a 19-point lead for Alpine over McLaren for P4 in the all-important Constructors’ points with only the one race remaining. Valtteri Bottas also scored decent points for Alfa Romeo with a ninth-place finish and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll took the final point in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Sao Paulo GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 63 George Russell MERCEDES 71 1:38:34.044 26
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 71 +1.529s 18
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 71 +4.051s 15
4 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 71 +8.441s 12
5 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 71 +9.561s 10
6 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 71 +10.056s 8
7 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 71 +14.080s 6
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 71 +18.690s 4
9 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 71 +22.552s 2
10 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 71 +23.552s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

In one week’s time, it’s the final race of the 2022 season — the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the futuristic and colorful Yas Marina Circuit. The last of the prizes will be claimed and it will be more than a little interesting to see if Verstappen can overcome his bizarre fit of pique and actually help his teammate Perez to prevail over Leclerc for P2 in the Drivers’ standings. Likewise, can Mercedes finish on another high and keep the good vibes flowing into the off season? Stay tuned & hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out as Formula 1 draws to close for the year!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Sao Paulo — Sprint Qualifying results

Magnussen earns first F1 pole in rain-effected quali but Russell wins Saturday Sprint race at Interlagos

Formula 1’s final Sprint Qualifying of the season went down on Saturday at a wet Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo. While Haas’s Kevin Magnussen had the thrill of winning his first F1 pole during Friday qualifying thanks in no small part to a well-timed Red Flag and subsequent rainy conditions, that only earned the veteran Dane the honor of starting first in the Sprint race, which will actually set the grid for Sunday’s Sao Paulo GP. While it was a more lively than usual affair, probably due to all the major 2022 prizes having already been scooped up by team Red Bull and their peerless ace, Max Verstappen, the fairly gimmicky 24-lap Sprint format began in dry conditions that saw Magnussen quickly overwhelmed by faster cars. Mercedes’ George Russell, driving aggressively but smartly, eventually earned the win ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in P2 and Verstappen in P3. In truth, the Haas driver benefitted greatly on Friday from Russell beaching his Silver Arrow midway through Q3, which brought out a Red Flag just before the skies opened over Interlagos. So, no other drivers could match Magnussen’s fast lap that he had set in drier conditions. But on Saturday the conditions were not particularly wet from the start despite cloudy skies, allowing the field to start on slick tires rather than Intermediates and the stronger cars to perform up to their true capabilities. As Magnussen faded to a P8 finish, Russell surged forward to dice with Verstappen, eventually passing the Dutchman for the race lead, the Red Bull having picked p some front wing damage after a clash with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz early on. That slowed the Red Bull enough to where both Sainz and the second Merc of Lewis Hamilton were also able to pass Vertsppen in the waning laps of the Sprint, though Sainz will be relegated 5-grid spots come race day due to engine component changes, making a front row lockout come race time.

Saturday Sprint Race Top 10:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 63 George Russell MERCEDES 24 30:11.307 8
2 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 24 +3.995s 7
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 24 +4.492s 6
4 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 24 +10.494s 5
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 24 +11.855s 4
6 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 24 +13.133s 3
7 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 24 +25.624s 2
8 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 24 +28.768s 1
9 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 24 +30.218s 0
10 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI RBPT 24 +34.170s 0

Friday Qualifying results:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:13.954 1:11.410 1:11.674 26
2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:13.625 1:10.881 1:11.877 23
3 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:14.427 1:11.318 1:12.059 24
4 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:13.106 1:11.377 1:12.263 25
5 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:14.680 1:10.890 1:12.357 24
6 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:14.663 1:11.587 1:12.425 22
7 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:13.542 1:11.394 1:12.504 21
8 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:13.403 1:11.539 1:12.611 25
9 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:13.613 1:11.456 1:15.601 26
10 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:14.486 1:10.950 DNF 25

Complete results and final starting grid available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s Sao Paulo GP airs live on ABC beginning at 1PM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Mercedes resurgence is for real, if Ferrari can overcome their tentative and clumsy strategy calls to grab a victory or if Verstappen has been sandbagging en route to padding his record win total.

2021 F1 Grand Prix of Brazil — Results & aftermath

Hamilton battles back from penalties & P10 start to take crucial victory in Brazil, besting P2 Verstappen; P3 Bottas heads P4 Perez on good rebound day for Mercedes

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton put his indelible stamp on this race weekend from Sao Paolo, Brazil, and added to his already formidable legend as one of Formula 1’s absolute greats. Overcoming adversity in the form of multiple penalties that led to him starting from P10 on the grid today, he masterfully drove his way through the field to earn a decisive victory over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the Brazilian Grand Prix. The hard earned win delivered a crucial hit of momentum to Hamilton’s quest for an unprecedented eighth Drivers’ Championship. After seeing his top spot in the Sprint Qualifying race disqualified due to an illegal rear wing DRS aperture after Friday “qualifying”, the English marvel put the bit between his teeth to finish P5 in Saturday’s Sprint race, which sets the grid for Sunday’s GP. But he was already facing another 5-spot penalty for the team’s decision to change internal combustion components, so that meant he therefore lined up in P10 to start the race. However, Mercedes power proved supreme at the short, high speed Autódromo José Carlos Pace, aka Interlagos, and no matter how many advantages Verstappen appeared to have by starting from P2 and quickly passing Hamilton’s pole-sitting teammate Valtteri Bottas for the top spot midway into Lap 1, Hamilton just kept coming at the Dutchman all race long.

After both Red Bull and Mercedes teams determined that a two-stop strategy and doing the last two stints on Hard Pirelli tires was optimal for this warm weather, 71-lap contest and the quartet of top contenders had all made their second stops — Verstappen trying for the undercut on Lap 40, followed by Bottas on Lap 42 and the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez and Hamilton on Lap 43 — the blue touch paper on this simmering race was well and truly lit. On lap 47, P2 Hamilton set the race’s fastest lap and pulled himself within DRS range of the leader, Verstappen. On the subsequent lap he tried for a move going into Turn 4 and Verstappen appeared to shove him off track and into the large runoff area in defense but the stewards determined no investigation was warranted. Hamilton was forced to grit his teeth, clean his tires for serval laps and regroup for another run to try and take that elusive lead. By Lap 58 he was back on Verstappen’s tail despite the Dutchman’s use of creative lines to defend. But on Lap 59 the pure power of that fresh Mercedes engine paid the dividend the team were looking for, as Hamilton again made a forceful move against the weaving Red Bull heading into Turn 4 to finally execute the pass and take a lead that Hamilton held, leading to an ultra-satisfying victory when the checkers flew.

Perez was able to steal the bonus point for fastest lap off Hamilton with a late pit stop but Lewis still pulled himself to within 14 points of Max in the title hunt. Mercedes also slightly padded their lead in the all important Contractors’ standings to a still pretty skinny eleven points by dint of Hamilton’s win and P3 Bottas finishing ahead of P4 Perez. With just three races remaining in the season, it will now be difficult but not impossible for Hamilton to come from behind and derail Verstappen’s quest for his first title. After his sublime and gritty performance to take a remarkable victory in Sao Paolo, Verstappen certainly knows Hamilton can never be counted out. He has, of course, done it seven times before.

Top 10 finishers of the Bazilian/Sao Paolo GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 71 1:32:22.851 25
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 71 +10.496s 18
3 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 71 +13.576s 15
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA 71 +39.940s 13
5 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 71 +49.517s 10
6 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 71 +51.820s 8
7 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 70 +1 lap 6
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 70 +1 lap 4
9 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 70 +1 lap 2
10 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 70 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time but half a world away — the debut of the Qatari Grand Prix and the Losail International Circuit on the F1 calendar at a vital point in the season. Heading to the third leg of a triple header of race weekends, the teams will be under tremendous pressure to get all their gear over, get set up and then extract as much data as they can about this brand new circuit before next Sunday’s race. And nothing will be as pivotal as how Hamilton and team Mercedes and Verstappen and team Red Bull deal with that diamond-forming pressure as the 2021 Championship enters its final trio of contests. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2021 F1 Grand Prix of Brazil — Sprint Qualifying results

Bottas wins Saturday Sprint race to wrest pole from Verstappen; Sainz stays ahead of Perez for P3; Hamilton makes mighty recovery drive from last to take P5 after losing Friday’s qualifying time due to rear wing violation

The last of the experimental and somewhat gimmicky Sprint Qualifying races of the 2021 Formula 1 season here at Interlagos in Sao Paolo, Brazil provided the most entertainment since deploying this format, primarily due to the fact that Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton had his Friday qualifying results disqualified when his rear wing’s DRS aperture failed inspection for being too wide. That sent Hamilton, who thought he had grabbed “pole” for this mini race that sets the grid for tomorrow’s Brazilian GP all the way to the rear to start the 24-lap Sprint quali. Compounding his challenge, Hamilton, who is in the unfamiliar position of trailing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the championship by nineteen points with just four rounds remaining, was already facing a 5-spot grid penalty after the team decided to take a fresh power unit for this weekend. But, displaying his supreme competitiveness in front of happily packed grandstands, Lewis drove the wheels off his Silver Arrow in an effort to make the very best of a bad situation, passing a veritable passel of cars to take a P5 finish after starting twentieth and dead last on the grid. That means he will at least have a fighting shot at a podium come race day Sunday, as even with his engine change penalty he will start in P10 tomorrow.

Better still for Mercedes and their own Constructors’ Championship aspirations, their second pilot Valtteri Bottas got the better of Verstappen when the lights went out and stole the lead from the erstwhile Sprint pole-sitter, which the Finn did not relinquish despite the Dutch contenders best efforts. That puts Mercedes in a good spot because it certainly looks like the Silver Arrows duo, who both have fresher engines now than their Red Bull counterparts, seem to have the legs over their arch-rivals at this short, high speed circuit. That observation appeared to be confirmed when Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was able to keep the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez behind him despite being on the more rapidly degrading Soft Pirellis, the Spaniard edging the Mexican P3 to P4.

Top 10 Sprint race qualifiers for tomorrow’s Brazilian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 24 29:09.559 3
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 24 +1.170s 2
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 24 +18.723s 1
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA 24 +19.787s 0
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 24 +20.872s 0
6 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 24 +22.558s 0
7 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 24 +25.056s 0
8 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 24 +34.158s 0
9 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 24 +34.632s 0
10 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 24 +34.867s 0

Complete Sprint results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 12PM Eastern here in the States. If today’s Sprint was any harbinger, look for Hamilton to carve his way to the front while hoping that Bottas can keep Verstappen behind him until he arrives at the scene. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Brazil — Results & aftermath

Verstappen rolls to victory for Red Bull in wild Brazilian GP; Gasly an ecstatic P2, Sainz promoted to P3 after Hamilton penalized for late race collision with Albon; Ferrari teammates crash out

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had the wings all day long and rolled to a dominant win at the Brazilian Grand Prix, his peerless performance the one constant in a topsy-turvy contest at sunny Interlagos on Sunday. With no bad weather to throw curveballs during the proceedings the contestants themselves provided the unpredictability and occasional rashness that led to a thrilling race and the unexpected result of having Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz take P2 and P3 respectively to share the podium with Verstappen and grab their highest career finishes in Formula 1. Meanwhile, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was demoted from P3 after a late race gamble to pit from the lead for fresh rubber under Safety Car conditions backfired. Instead, it led to a major loss of track position when the Englishman emerged in P4 and a desperate attempt to get back to the front when the Safety Car was withdrawn with only three laps remaining. But while the newly minted six-time champ got by Gasly for P3 easily enough he couldn’t make a clean pass on the P2 Red Bull of Alexander Albon. Hamilton stuck his nose in forcefully on the penultimate lap going into Turn 10 but the door closed quickly and he ended up spinning out the impressive Thai rookie, denying Albon a probable second place result — a first potential podium for the youngster — and what could have been an even more amazing day for the Red Bull team. Hamilton, perhaps a bit too honestly, accepted full responsibility for the incident and was promptly penalized off the podium down to P7, much to Sainz’s and McLaren’s overjoyed advantage. Worse still for Mercedes, the second car of Valtteri Bottas suffered an oil pressure failure on Lap 52 that led to the Finn’s first retirement since the rainy crahfest at Hockenheim in late July.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

But as disappointing as things ended up for mighty Mercedes they went even more sideways for Ferrari. With Charles Leclerc making a heroic effort to claw back positions after a pre-race grid penalty saw him start down in P14 and Sebastian Vettel running solidly at the front and hunting a podium, it seemed almost inevitable that the two intra-team rivals would end up fighting over the same piece of track as the laps wound down. With Leclerc on slightly fresher Soft Pirellis, having pitted four laps later than Vettel during the Bottas Safety Car period, the Monegasque was able to close the gap to his senior teammate, who had lost precious time and, in fact, lost out while dicing with Albon for P3. On Lap 66 of this 71-lap contest, Leclerc was close enough to make a move and pass Vettel coming out of Turn 3 heading into the Reta Oposta. But Vettel got the DRS on Leclerc as they both steamed into Turn 4, the Descido do Lago. Vettel got his nose ahead but pressed his advantage just a little too aggressively, pushing across the track and into Leclerc’s front tire and wing with his left rear tire. As quickly as that, both Ferraris were out of the race, with the hard-charging Leclerc’s day of brilliant recovery work done in by a broken front right suspension courtesy of his teammate. Simultaneously, Vettel’s left rear tire delaminated badly after the contact and the carcass became a buzz saw whipping away at all that precious carbon fiber body work. It was a hell of a finish for the famed Scuderia going from a guaranteed strong points day to zero and will certainly not please the braintrust at Maranello. It’s also sure to worsen the already strained relations between the upstart would-be team leader and the decorated veteran, who has in truth made more than his fair share of mistakes during his tenure at Ferrari.

But whatever drama and fireworks happened behind them, the day belonged to the trio of Verstappen, Gasly and Sainz. No one could touch the Dutchman all race long and both Red Bulls seemed to be way ahead of their key rivals in terms of getting their tires to both turn on and maintain performance here at this very short and busy 4.3 kilometer circuit. Continue reading →

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Brazil — Qualifying results

Verstappen seizes pole in Sao Paolo for Red Bull; Ferrari’s Vettel P2, Hamilton P3 for Merecedes

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen earned his second career pole position and second of the year during Saturday qualifying for the Brazilian Gran Prix. The Dutch wunderkind was consistently faster than the more vaunted Ferraris and Mercedes, as the Red Bull team look to finish the season strong and stick it to the big boys in the penultimate race of the Formula 1 calendar tomorrow at Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Sao Paolo, more commonly know as Interlagos. Verstappen was over a tenth quicker than Sebastian Vettel’s P2 Prancing Horse and the P3 Silver Arrow of newly minted 6-time champion Lewis Hamilton. Known for having driven one of the best ever wet weather races here back in 2016, Verstappen will be looking to keep his top spot until the checkered flag flies on Sunday and earn his first Brazilian GP win.

With the teams originally mixed and matched at the front of the grid, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was promoted to P4 alongside his teammate Lewis Hamilton even though Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc bested the Finn in quali because Leclerc faces a 10-spot grid penalty come race day due to a power unit change. It should be fun watching the talented young Monegasque motor his way back up to the front from a lowly P14 start. Continue reading →

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Brazil — Results & aftermath

Hamilton gifted win in Sao Paolo after Verstappen tangles with backmarker, Bottas P5 to secure Contructors’ title for Mercedes; Raikkonen P3, Vettel P6 as Ferrari fall short once again

Newly crowned World Champion Lewis Hamilton is never one to pass up an opportunity for victory despite having already clinched his fifth world title. Looking like a certain runner-up to  the dominant Red Bull of Max Verstappen in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, Mercedes’ ace pilot instead took advantage of Verstappen’s misfortune and possible impatience to positively snipe the win at Interlagos in Sao Paolo. After running a flawless race with great strategy and a surprisingly quick Red Bull beneath him, Verstappen’s race was undone in an instant a mere 8 laps after he made his first stop for tires and just four laps after passing Hamilton on the circuit to take what looked to be an unassailable lead. It all went sideways on Lap 44 when a backmarker, the Force India of Esteban Ocon, tried to unlap himself and raced the Dutch wunderkind hard going into the Senna esses.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Perhaps expecting Ocon to back off, Verstappen appeared to turn in as the Frenchman instead dove down the inside to try and stay on the lead lap. The two cars collided with the result that Verstappen spun off the track and watched helplessly as Hamilton steamed by him to regain the lead while his Red Bull waited to reenter the track safely. Verstappen also incurred significant damage to his RB14 chassis’ floor but was able to maintain his P2 position and even hound Hamilton a bit towards the end of this 71-lap contest. But despite having to nurse his slower Medium compound Pirellis to the end of the race and with some potential engine gremlins creeping into the mix, Hamilton had enough pace to hold off the irate Dutchman and win his tenth Grand Prix this year out of twenty races. Hamilton’s victory coupled with his teammate Valtteri Bottas’s P5 finish locked up the Constructors’ title for mighty Mercedes, their fifth in a row, and ensured that this resurrected Mercedes factory effort will go down as one of the most dominant teams of any era.

After the race, a livid Verstappen confronted Ocon at the post-race weigh-in and initiated a shoving match. Continue reading →

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Brazil — Qualifying results

Hamilton takes pole with track record at Interlagos, Vettel keeps P2 after weigh-in contretemps; Bottas starts P3

Newly crowned 2018 F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton followed up his title-clinching but so-so P4 run in Mexico two weeks ago with a more Hamiltonian effort, setting a new lap record at Autodromo José Carlos Pace for pole in Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Brazilian Grand Prix. Showing that he is still driven to perform at the highest level even after seizing his remarkable fifth Drivers’ title, the English superstar once again got the better of his season-long pursuer Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, laying down a hot lap of 1:07.281 for the best-ever time at Interlagos, albeit a mere .09 ahead his German rival. Once again it was Vettel looking up at Hamilton on the leaderboard, a depressing reality for both the man and the team. In truth, Vettel was lucky to retain his P2 starting position after some confusion at the weighbridge during a rain-threatened Q2 that saw Vettel hurrying the officials along in a desperate attempt to get to his pits for fresh rubber before the deluge screwed up his session. Vettel was accused of not shutting down his engine as required by the rules and “destroying the scales” by motoring away rather than being push started. Then again Hamilton also dodged the stewards’ wrath after dawdling in front of a fast-approaching Williams of Sergey Sirotkin in Q2, which very nearly led to a dangerous collision but for the lightening reflexes of the Russian rookie.

Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas secured P3 on the grid and he will line up aside Vettel’s Scuderia stablemate Kimi Raikkonen, who had the fourth fastest qualifying time. Ferrari may have some extra strategic cards to play come race day, however, in a last ditch effort to hold off the Silver Arrows from capturing the Constructors’ title, at least for another week. Continue reading →

2017 F1 Grand Prix of Brazil — Results & aftermath

Vettel victorious in Brazil, Bottas P2; Raikkonen finishes third while Hamilton roars back from the rear for P4

Sebastian Vettel and Scuderia Ferrari got a measure of redemption in Brazil on Sunday after coming up short in their quest for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. In the penultimate race of the season Vettel made a blinding start from P2, slipping past Mercedes pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas on the inside of Turn 1 and quickly pulling out a gap. Even after a multi-car melee behind the leaders led to a first-lap Safety Car Vettel was able to re-establish his advantage after the restart and control the race from the front, showing that for this weekend at least his Prancing Horse had the legs on the Silver Arrows. It all lead to a seemingly easy victory for the German 4-time World Champion, although Vettel claimed he had to be picture perfect in the middle sector all race long to hold Bottas off. It was also a much needed morale boost for the legendary team from Maranello after their second half swoon, which was fueled equally by unforced errors by drivers and engineering and ultimately resulted in their disappointing runner-up status. The victory at Interlagos also helped solidify Vettel’s number two position in the Drivers’ competition with his lead over Bottas ballooning to a very nearly insurmountable 22 points.

Despite a terrific qualifying effort that snatched pole from Ferrari on Saturday, Bottas’ Mercedes could not match Vettel’s race pace. The Finn made one or two vague challenges but essentially lost it at the start and had to settle for a relatively disappointing if comfortable P2. Likewise Vettel’s stablemate Kimi Raikkonen could never quite catch up to Bottas but drove a solid race to finish P3. Meanwhile Bottas’ teammate, newly-crowned 2017 champion Lewis Hamilton, had an amazing race to finish just off the podium in P4. Starting from pit lane after he shockingly binned his Merc early in the first round of qualifying, the team was able to break parc firmé and make several changes to the Englishman’s F1 W08. As well as aero tweaks Mercedes also installed a new power unit, which probably would have required grid penalties in the next race, the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Instead, despite his profound positional disadvantage, Hamilton tore through the field like a man possessed, slicing through back markers like a hot knife through butter. On an uncharacteristically sunny day in Sao Paolo with no aide from rain-induced strategy calls, Hamilton simply mustered the will to make it happen all on his own. In the end it showed once again why Lewis Hamilton is one of the all-time great F1 talents and truly deserving of his four world titles. Though Hamilton’s Super Soft Pirelli tires gave up at the end after a monster stint and he could not quite overtake Raikkonen for a podium his astounding fourth place must have felt nearly like a victory.

Behind the top four, Red Bull’s Max Vertsappen faded somewhat after a strong start where it looked like the young Dutch phenom might make the post-race champagne celebration. But the limits of his Renault power plant seemed to show themselves over the long run as the greater horsepower of the Ferraris and Mercedes pushed them out of his grasp. Verstappen had to settle for a distant P5, while his teammate Daniel Ricciardo did well to fight back after a first-lap spin to claim P6. Williams’ Felipe Massa earned an emotional P7 in his final home Grand Prix to the delight of the masses of his countrymen in the stands. The veteran Brazilian exited Sao Paolo with a clean and classy drive after tearfully crashing out during his rain-soaked false alarm last year.

Fernando Alonso continued McLaren’s upward ascent with a strong P8. Although next year will be extremely intriguing and demanding for the Spaniard with his plans to run not only the 24-Hours of Daytona in January but also at least a partial campaign for Toyota in the Prototype class of the World Endurance Championship, the two-time F1 champion has got to be looking forward to the switch to Renault engines to power what is seemingly a very competitive chassis. Unfortunately for McLaren, however, their second driver Stoffel Vanfoorne crashed out on the opening lap after getting tagged by Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, who also had to retire. Sergio Perez brought his Force India home to a P9 finish after his teammate Esteban Ocon had his race-finishing streak snapped via a collision with Romain Grojean of Haas, also on the opening lap. Grosjean got a 10-second penalty for the accident but was able to complete the race, albeit out of the points in P15. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg landed the last points-paying position in P10 just getting the better of his teammate Carlos Sainz, who finished P11.

Top 10 finishers of the Brazilian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 71 1:31:26.262 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 71 +2.762s 18
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 71 +4.600s 15
4 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 71 +5.468s 12
5 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 71 +32.940s 10
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 71 +48.691s 8
7 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 71 +68.882s 6
8 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN HONDA 71 +69.363s 4
9 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 71 +69.500s 2
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 70 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next & final race is in two weeks time, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the gorgeous day-into-night Yas Marina Circuit. Hope to see you then to find out how the season ends!

2017 F1 Grand Prix of Brazil — Qualifying results

Bottas snatches pole from Vettel while Hamilton crashes out in Q1 during unpredictable quali at Interlagos; Raikkonen P3

In a stunning qualifying session for the penultimate race of the 2017 campaign in Brazil on Saturday newly crowned World Champion Lewis Hamilton crashed out on his opening lap in Q1. The Mercedes ace lost it speeding into Turn 7 at Interlagos, bashing his Silver Arrow heavily into the barriers sideways. While the Englishman was unhurt his pride probably wasn’t by the unforced error just two weeks after he claimed his fourth F1 title in Mexico City. It only proved that it can happen to the best of drivers but it opened up the chase for pole to his only true rivals this season, his teammate Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. And while Vettel looked like the favorite after laying down a track record lap relatively early in Q3, Bottas showed his mettle by besting that seemingly supreme time even though a light drizzle was falling and the checkered flag was waving. The Finn lifted Mercedes’ pride across the line with him at the death with a remarkable 1:08.322, good enough to take the pole and break Ferrari’s hearts. Vettel will start beside Bottas in P2 and his teammate Kimi Raikkonen will be right behind the Mercedes in P3. Hamilton, on the other hand, will have to start towards the back of the grid and will have to battle his way to the front, although other drivers facing grid spot penalties may move him up a spot or two by the time Sunday rolls around. Right now, however, the current F1 champ is starting from a lonely and lowly P20 after his very uncharacteristic cock up. (In fact it has just been announced that Hamilton will start from pit lane tomorrow, as Mercedes have decided to make changes to the car after the crash.)

The two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo qualified P4 and P5 respectively but that success was somewhat illusory for the team. Ricciardo is one of the drivers facing engine-change penalties, 10 spots in his case, and so the affable Aussie was pushed back to P15 on the grid. And though Verstappen was spared any such FIA demerits the young Dutchman, winner of the last Grand Prix in Mexico two weeks ago, was forced to retrofit old components onto his ailing Renault engine. Verstappen could be heard complaining about shifting issues during qualifying and can only hope that his bad luck, so frequent in the earlier part of the season, doesn’t return in the form of yet more mechanical failures costing him a race finish. Sergio Perez was the lone Force India to make it into Q3 and had the 6th fastest time, while McLaren’s Fernando Alonso continued the team’s late season upward trajectory by qualifying an impressive P7 at this very fast circuit. The yellow factory Renaults of Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz were back-to-back with the 8th and 9th fastest times respectively. And Felipe Massa set the 10th quickest lap in what should really be his final Brazilian GP after last year’s tearful false alarm. It looks like the fine Brazilian veteran, who has the 6th most starts in Formula 1 history, will actually hang it up for good after being drafted back into Williams when Bottas made the unexpected leap to Mercedes following Nico Rosberg’s surprise retirement at the end of 2016. We can only wish Massa, a classy and plucky competitor with 15 F1 campaigns to his credit, the very best at his final home race as he heads for the exits at season’s end after a superb career.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Brazilian Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:09.452 1:08.638 1:08.322 22
2 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:09.643 1:08.494 1:08.360 21
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:09.405 1:09.116 1:08.538 18
4 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:09.820 1:09.050 1:08.925 18
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:09.828 1:09.533 1:09.330 19
6 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:10.145 1:09.760 1:09.598 21
7 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN HONDA 1:10.172 1:09.593 1:09.617 17
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 1:10.078 1:09.726 1:09.703 21
9 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 1:10.227 1:09.768 1:09.805 17
10 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:09.789 1:09.612 1:09.841 16

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on NBC Sports starting at 11:00 AM Eastern here in the States. With wet weather always the wild card at Interlagos it could once again be the factor that shakes up the field and produces an unexpected result. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!