Brazil – Qualifying: Bottas on pole, Hamilton in the wall
After a very tight session, it was ultimately Valtteri Bottas who was able to secure pole position at Interlagos. He is ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen. Notably, Lewis Hamilton went off track on his first lap in Q1. He will therefore start from the back of the grid.
The weather conditions have hardly changed compared to the morning session, which allowed Ferrari to significantly close the gap with Mercedes.
With a 40% chance of rain, the Mercedes teams rushed onto the track to ensure their passage to Q2. However, Lewis Hamilton made an error on his first lap, causing the session to be interrupted. The new four-time world champion thus destroyed his car after this side impact.
The misfortune of some often making the happiness of others, Lance Stroll was able to participate in the session after changing his engine and gearbox following his issue during the third free practice session. But he was not able to perform well and settled for the 18th fastest time of the session.
As soon as the light turned green again, all the drivers took to the track. Ferrari chose to use only the soft tires, while the rest of the field opted for the super softs. That didn’t stop Kimi Räikkönen from setting the fastest time in this first part of qualifying, while Sebastian Vettel ranked third.
The five eliminated in this Q1 were Wehrlein, Gasly, Stroll, Ericsson, and thus Hamilton.
At the start of Q2, Valtteri Bottas sent a strong signal by setting a new track record at 1:08.901. But Sebastian Vettel responded on his very last lap, doing even better.
At the end of the first relay, those at risk were Romain Grosjean, Stoffel Vandoorne, Nico Hülkenberg, Kevin Magnussen, and Brendon Hartley. The Kiwi from Toro Rosso thus multiplied start simulations at the end of the pit lane since he will incur a ten-place penalty due to a mechanical change. He did not, however, set any time.
Finally, Esteban Ocon got caught out, finishing only 11th, just ahead of his compatriot Romain Grosjean. The Sahara Force India driver yields to his teammate, Sergio Perez. The other eliminated drivers are Stoffel Vandoorne, Kevin Magnussen, and Brendon Hartley. The gap between the Belgian McLaren driver and his teammate is significant, over half a second, while Felipe Massa secured a last Q3 in front of his home crowd.
During the first round of laps in Q3, Valtteri Bottas, then Sebastian Vettel, were able to once again break the track record.
On the other hand, Carlos Sainz and Felipe Massa hindered each other in turns. The Brazilian nearly made the same mistake as Lewis Hamilton at the same spot but managed to regain control of his car and thus avoid going off track. However, he was forced to abandon his lap.
Valtteri Bottas was then able to deliver a very classy final lap and thus manage to get ahead of the two Ferraris. The Mercedes cars will therefore be at opposite ends of the grid, with the Finn on track and Lewis Hamilton in last position.
Fernando Alonso was also thrilled to have slipped into 7th position, which will convert to 6th place on the grid since Daniel Ricciardo will face a 10-place penalty. Nico Hülkenberg managed to once again beat Carlos Sainz, while Felipe Massa had to settle for the 10th fastest time.
INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF QUALIFYING): @ValtteriBottas claims his third career pole #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 #Quali pic.twitter.com/DU2rFxE1yk
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 novembre 2017
