In what was a rain drenched race with multiple red flags, it was Lewis Hamilton who was victorious at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton’s team mate, Nico Rosberg, finished in second place, while Max Verstappen finished in third for Red Bull Racing, rounding out the podium positions.
Lewis Hamilton Secures 52nd Win at Brazilian Grand Prix
It was Lewis Hamilton who was once again victorious this weekend for Mercedes, a win that marked the 52nd of his career, placing him as the driver with the second largest number of wins in Formula 1, with only Michael Schumacher exceeding such a feat. This race also marked Hamilton’s first win at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the race of his hero, Aryton Senna. Finishing in second place was Nico Rosberg, also for Mercedes. After being overtaken by Max Verstappen when the Safety Car pulled into the pits following the start of the race, Rosberg spent a large amount of time running in third place. Despite this, Rosberg came to finish in second place, regaining the position through the strategy mistakes of Red Bull. Max Verstappen finished in third place. Verstappen experienced a very exciting race in Brazil, showing other drivers on the grid how to overtake in full wet conditions. In the later stages of the race prior to the final restart, Verstappen pitted in order to switch back to the full wet tryre compound, rejoining the race in fourteenth. From there, Verstappen battled his way back through the grid to secure his podium finish, as well as the fastest lap.
Finishing in fourth place for Force India was Sergio Perez, securing a strong finish. In the later stages of the race, Perez was in third, however, in the final few laps, lost out on the potential podium finish though a hard-charging Verstappen. Perez’s team mate, Nico Hulkenberg, finished in seventh place. Despite spending the first half of the race in fourth, Hulkenberg was forced to pit under Safety Car conditions following a suspected puncture. Due to this, Hulkenberg rejoined the race in fifteenth place, removing the German driver’s opportunity to possibly finish on the podium for the first time in his career.
Sebastian Vettel was the highest finishing Ferrari in fifth place, recovering from an early spin in the race to secure 10 points. Vettel’s team mate, Kimi Raikkonen, retired from the race after crashing out in spectacular fashion following the Safety Car period caused by Marcus Ericsson’s earlier accident. The Finn spun his car on the main straight, despite attempting to regain control of his Ferrari. Raikkonen’s car ended up clattered against the pit wall, very nearly being hit by the Manor of Esteban Ocon. Raikkonen’s accident led to the race being stopped under red flag conditions.
Carlos Sainz Jr finished in sixth place, however, was on track to securing his career best finishing position in fourth. However, Sainz was passed by both Verstappen and Vettel, meaning that the Spaniard equaled his career best finishing position in P6. Sainz’s Toro Rosso team mate, Daniil Kvyat, finished in thirteenth place.
Daniel Ricciardo finished in eighth place for Red Bull Racing after being handed a 5 second time penalty after driving into the pits when the pit lane was closed. Felipe Nasr finished in ninth place for Sauber, marking Sauber’s first points finish this season. This result means that Sauber have overtaken Manor in the Contructors Standings. With only one race to go, this was a key result for the Brazilian driver, potentially securing his team tenth place in the Constructors Championship.
Fernando Alonso finished in tenth place for McLaren, securing 1 point. Alonso’s team mate, Jenson Button, finished in sixteenth place, being the last classified finisher in the race. Button experienced a difficult race weekend, being eliminated from qualifying 1 and failing to turn on either the hard or intermediate tyre compound in the race.
Valtteri Bottas was the highest finishing Williams in eleventh place. In what was his final home race of his Formula 1 career, Felipe Massa faced heartbreak after crashing his Williams car on the main straight, leaving the Formula 1 veteran visibly upset. Despite retiring from the race however, Massa still had the support of the crowd, with his fans cheering his name from the stands and the Mercedes, Ferrari, and Williams teams turning out in force in the pit lane to welcome back Massa.
Esteban Ocon finished in twelfth place, being very close to finishing in the points for the first time his career. Ocon’s team mate, Pascal Wehrlein, finished in fifteenth place. Renault’s Kevin Magnussen finished in fourteenth place.
The Brazilian Grand Prix marked a number of retirements, with weather conditions playing a key role in influencing the finishing results. This weekend was disappointing for Haas F1, after Romain Grosjean secured the team’s highest starting position in seventh place. The Frenchman retired before the start of the race, after spinning his car during the installation lap, leaving him with heavy suspension damage. Grosjean’s team mate, Esteban Gutierrez, also retired from the race, resulting in a double retirement foe the American team this weekend. Also retiring from the race was Britain’s Jolyon Palmer. Palmer was forced to retire when losing control of his while overtaking Daniil Kvyat just seconds before Kimi Raikkonen’s accident. When losing control of the car, Palmer spun into the side of Kvyat, resulting in his Renault securing terminal suspension damage. Marcus Ericsson also retired from the race, spinning his Sauber into the pit wall.
For driver of the day, there is only one candidate, and that is Max Verstappen. Verstappen drove a great race for Red Bull, proving why he is one of F1’s hottest talents currently and proving to others that it is possible to overtake in the wet while off the racing line. Verstappen raced through the field from fourteenth to third in the final stages of the race, securing the fastest lap along the way, making him a worthy candidate.
Results from the Brazilian GP:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 25 points
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 18 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 15 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 12 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 10 points
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 8 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 6 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 4 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 2 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1 point
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 0 points
- Esteban Ocon, Manor, 0 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 0 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 0 points
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 0 points
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 0 points
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1, Ret
- Felipe Massa, Williams, Ret
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, Ret
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Ret
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, Ret
- Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, DNS/Ret
Drivers Standings after 20 races:
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 367 points
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 355 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 246 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 197 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 192 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 178 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 97 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 85 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 66 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 53 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 51 points
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 46 points
- Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, 29 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 25 points
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 21 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 7 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 2 points
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1 point
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1 point
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1 point
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1, 0 points
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
- Esteban Ocon, Manor, 0 points
- Rio Haryanto, Manor, 0 points
Constructors Standings after 20 races:
- Mercedes, 722 points
- Red Bull Racing, 446 points
- Ferrari, 375 points
- Force India, 163 points
- Williams, 136 points
- McLaren, 75 points
- Toro Rosso, 63 points
- Haas F1, 29 points
- Renault, 8 points
- Sauber, 2 points
- Manor, 1 point
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