The 2017 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix held on Sunday at Sao Paolo’s Autódromo José Carlos Pace turned out to be a fantastic race with amazing weather and a magnificent crowd.
Viewers were thrilled by Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton who piloted his way from a pit lane start to finish fourth. The recently crowned world champion had suffered a crash during the early part of Saturday’s qualifying session so was unable to set a time.
Finishing ahead of him were Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen in first and third, and fellow Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas splitting them. Bottas started the race in pole but a blistering start for Vettel saw the Ferrari driver jump into the lead by the first corner.
The battle at the front was intense, with the top three drivers crossing the line within the space of 5.0 seconds. Hamilton wasn’t too far off himself, finishing 5.468 seconds behind the winner.
2017 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen was a distant fifth ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo, the latter also fighting back from near the back of the grid. Behind them was Williams' Felipe Massa in his final race in front of his home crowd. He managed to hold off a strong challenge from McLaren’s Fernando Alonso who in the end had to settle for eighth. Force India’s Sergio Perez was close behind in ninth while Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten.
There weren’t too many dramas although there were a couple of crashes at the start that brought out the safety car and saw McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Force India’s Esteban Ocon all retire. Ricciardo entered a spin after running wide at Turn 3 of the first lap, coming into contact with Vandoorne who was right next to Magnussen. And a few corners later, Haas’ Romain Grosjean drove his car into the side of Ocon's car, resulting in heavy damage and a puncture. While Grosjean survived, he was handed a 10.0-second penalty by the stewards.
Sadly for Brendon Hartley, mechanical issues with his Toro Rosso meant he also failed to finish the race.
Hamilton’s points tally in the 2017 Drivers’ Championship now moves up to 345 points. Vettel is second with 302 points and Bottas is third with 280 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes leads with 625 points followed by Ferrari with 495 and Red Bull with 358. The final race on the calendar, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, takes place in a fortnight.
Hit the next page for the full results of the 2017 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix.
2017 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix
Below are the full results of the 2017 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix:
1) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
2) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG +2.762 seconds
3) Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari +4.600 seconds
4) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG +5.468 seconds
5) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +32.940 seconds
6) Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing +48.691 seconds
7) Felipe Massa, Williams +68.882 seconds
8) Fernando Alonso, McLaren +69.363 seconds
9) Sergio Perez, Force India +69.500 seconds
10) Nico Hulkenberg, Renault +1 lap
11) Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso +1 lap
12) Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso +1 lap
13) Marcus Ericsson, Sauber +1 lap
14) Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber +1 lap
15) Romain Grosjean, Haas +2 laps
16) Lance Stroll, Williams +2 laps
Ret) Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
Ret) Esteban Ocon, Force India
Ret) Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
Ret) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
