Valtteri Bottas once again proved why he has been worthy of the Mercedes seat for as long as he has. An unbelievable start from the Finn saw him glide past Max Verstappen like he was in a go kart! Verstappen moved 21 points clear of Lewis Hamilton prior to the race.
Valtteri Bottas Takes Pole
For the third time in four races, Valtteri Bottas beats Max Verstappen to pole position, keeping Mercedes on top of the Constructors’ Championship.
After a catastrophic blunder yesterday, the Mercedes team made up for it today. They put Bottas on the soft tyre compared to the medium of the Red Bulls.
It made it easy for Bottas to jump Verstappen, and the Finn held on superbly to clinch pole and the bonus three points.
Carlos Sainz was key for Mercedes today; he kept Sergio Perez at bay, not only gaining a bonus point for Ferrari, but keeping the Mercs ahead of Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton – ‘It’s Not Over Yet’
Lewis Hamilton showed the world why he is the greatest driver in the history of the sport. Carving his way through the field, in just 24 laps, he mustered up P5 from P20. Making up four places on lap 1, the Brit just kept going.
He managed to take fifth from birthday boy Lando Norris on the final lap. He dived up the inside of his fellow Brit into turn one, and held the overtake in unbelievable fashion.
After the last few races and more importantly, the last 24 hours, it would be easy for Hamilton to cower away. That’s not what ‘GOATs’ do. They never give up, and Hamilton proved his mettle once again. In a resilient mood, his radio message after the sprint was ‘It’s Not Over Yet’.
Reaction
Bottas hails the strategy: “We knew the soft would be a benefit for the start and it worked, and then it was all about trying to survive until the end… I’m glad it worked out perfectly!”
Verstappen turns his attention to tomorrow: “The start wasn’t the best. I think our pace was quite good, but sometimes here you just can’t pass. We will try again tomorrow!”
Sainz attacks Red Bulls: “The first three corners I just went onto the attack. It was a bit tight with Checo and Max but we made it stick!”
Final Classification:
How they crossed the line in an action-packed #F1Sprint in Brazil!#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/I2OBlBbSWa
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 13, 2021
Main Image Credit:Embed from Getty Images
