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
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
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...
Please allow a moment for the blog to load...
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
Lap 39: Further down the field, the Renaults are fighting back after pitting and Hulkenberg gets by Gasly for tenth place to return to the points. Sainz is not far behind, and if their engines hold on, they could be in for a strong result.
Lap 41: Hamilton has hit the first of the backmarkers and he's through Hartley and Stroll just as Grosjean finds a way to get by the latter. Hartley meanwhile is told to pit straight away to retire the car for the third grand prix in a row.
Lap 44: Hamilton pits from the lead! He'll have to push his super-softs 27 laps, as will Ricciardo who pits behind him.
Hamilton returns to the track in fifth with Ricciardo down eighth in but once again they'll be the cars to watch.
Lap 46: On Hamilton's first flying lap, he takes nine-tenths out of Vettel, and with 17 seconds between them that would be enough to catch him before the end of the race. However, to do that he will need to pass Verstappen, Raikkonen and teammate Bottas, so the odds are certainly against him.
What is it about McLaren drivers and Brazil?
Stoffel Vandoorne watches on after retiring from the race
Lap 50: 21 laps to go and Hamilton is briefly held up behind Stroll and Gasly that costs him time. Bottas meanwhile is still only three seconds behind Vettel, but he has not shown anything close to having the pace to challenge the Ferrari today.
Lap 53: Grosjean gets the call to pit and is finally informed about his 10-second penalty. As you can imagine, he's not taken it too well...
Lap 55: Verstappen is starting to feel his tyres going off again, and with Hamilton just three seconds behind, it's the last thinh he needs. You feel the inevitable is coming...
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments