Brazilian Grand Prix live: Sebastian Vettel wins ahead of Valtteri Bottas as Lewis Hamilton recovers from last to fourth
Follow the latest from the penultimate race of the season at Interlagos
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Your support makes all the difference.Lewis Hamilton will start the Brazilian Grand Prix from the pit lane after crashing out of Saturday qualifying, with his Mercedes teammate Valterri Bottas starting from pole position alongside the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. Follow the latest here.
- Bottas on pole position with Vettel second
- Other Ferrari of Raikkonen third with Verstappen in fourth
- Perez and Alonso fifth and sixth
- Ricciardo down in 14th after engine penalty and Hamilton starting from pit lane
Follow the live action below...
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Starting grid:
1. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1min 08.322secs
2. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:08.360
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:08.538
4. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:08.925
5. Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:09.598
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:09.617
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:09.703
8. Carlos Sainz (Spa) Renault 1:09.805
9. Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:09.841
10. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:09.830
11. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:09.879
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 1:10.116
13. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:10.154
14. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:09.330 + 10 places
15. Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:10.678
16. Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 1:10.776
17. Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:10.875
18. Brendon Hartley (Nzl) Scuderia Toro Rosso No Time
19. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:10.686
20. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP No Time
Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Brazilian Grand Prix, where an exciting race is in store as recently-crowned world champion Lewis Hamilton starts from the pit lane after crashing out of qualifying.
The news to get out the way early is that Lewis Hamilton WILL start the Brazilian Grand Prix, albeit from the pit lane, after his car was rebuilt overnight.
Why is he starting from the back of the pack? Well, Hamilton provided a timely reminder that he is in fact human as he made a mistake in first qualifying, going off at 160mph and slamming his Mercedes into the barrier. Here's how qualifying unfolded:
There's also been something else on Hamilton's mind after members of his Mercedes team were held at gunpoint in an armed robbery:
Sadly, that sense of danger continued on Saturday as the Sauber team became the latest to be targeted by armed thieves:
With 10 minutes to go until lights out, here's a reminder of the grid:
1. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1min 08.322secs
2. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:08.360
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:08.538
4. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:08.925
5. Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:09.598
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:09.617
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:09.703
8. Carlos Sainz (Spa) Renault 1:09.805
9. Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:09.841
10. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:09.830
11. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:09.879
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 1:10.116
13. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:10.154
14. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:09.330 + 10 places
15. Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:10.678
16. Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 1:10.776
17. Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:10.875
18. Brendon Hartley (Nzl) Scuderia Toro Rosso No Time
19. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:10.686
20. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP No Time
Lap 1: Vettel gets past Bottas for the lead at the first turn! The Ferrari man leads the way, with Bottas second and Raikkonen third. There's carnage behind though, as Ricciardo is pointing the wrong way at the bottom of the Senna Esses, and then Ocon and Grosjean both spin out into the barrier!
Safety car deployed!
Lap 2: Stoffel Vandoorne, Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen are all out of the race, while both Ricciardo and Grosjean pit along with Wehrlein due to damage. Hamilton meanwhile is up to 14th position from the back of the field, while the two Toro Rossos are just outside the top 10 from the back of the grid!
The field meanwhile is being led through the pit lane to allow the clean up to be carried out through turn two and three.
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