It’s the penultimate round of the 2017 Formula One world championship and while both titles have been decided, there is plenty at stake at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race from 3am AEDT.
Nestled in the bustling city of São Paulo, the 4.3km undulating circuit represents one of the drivers’ most favourites on the calendar – with its high-speed corners and long straights.
The traditional 71-lap race has been known to dish up chaos, with changeable weather always a factor in Brazil.
Dramatic races such as in 2012 and 2016, where Max Verstappen demonstrated a masterclass in the treacherous conditions, are what’s well known about the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Newly crowned four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, found himself in a spot of bother during qualifying, when he crashed out early in Q1. As a result, the Briton failed to set a time and is set to start the race which he won last year, from pit-lane.
It was the other Mercedes AMG however that took pole position, with Valtteri Bottas storming to take the top spot by less than four one-hundredths of a second, over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Kimi Räikkönen lines up on the second row of the grid with Verstappen, all in with a chance to win the race.
Not within immediate contention is Daniel Ricciardo, who once again was subject to a Renault power-unit penalty and will start the race from fourteenth. Both Toro Rosso drivers join the Aussie in the bottom half of the grid, suffering the same issues.
If weather is indeed a variable during the race, then the possibility of some surprise results is always on the cards. Sergio Perez from fifth in the Force India leads a quartet of prospective podium getters; in the likes of Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz.
Lest it not be ruled out that Felipe Massa can contend also, as the Brazilian gears up for what’ll be his final home grand prix. Starting from ninth, the Paulista will hope to not conclude his career in the same fashion as he crashed out in 2016.
The gloves are off then, as the championship is no longer in play. A straight fight between the Silver Arrows, Ferrari and Red Bull could very well be on the cards here.
Bottas can finish second in the standings, if he can overturn a 15-point deficit to Vettel in the Ferrari. Could he do so by claiming a third career win?
Tune in on The Roar from 3am AEDT for the Brazilian Grand Prix, as we count down to the end of the 2017 season.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Just one more race to go in 2017 then for Formula One. Join me again in a fortnight's time for live blog coverage on The Roar, as we get set for the final event under the lights of Abu Dhabi. But until then, thank you very much for tuning into this coverage of the Brazilian Grand Prix and we look forward to having your company next time. Obrigado e adeus!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 345 - Lewis Hamilton 302 - Sebastian Vettel 280 - Valtteri Bottas 200 - Daniel Ricciardo 193 - Kimi Räikkönen 158 - Max Verstappen 94 -- Sergio Perez 83 -- Esteban Ocon 54 -- Carlos Sainz 42 -- Felipe Massa 40 -- Lance Stroll 35 -- Nico Hulkenberg 28 -- Romain Grosjean 19 -- Kevin Magnussen 15 -- Fernando Alonso 13 -- Stoffel Vandoorne 8 --- Jolyon Palmer 5 --- Pascal Wehrlein 5 --- Daniil Kvyat 0 --- Marcus Ericsson 0 --- Antonio Giovinazzi 0 --- Jenson Button
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Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 625 - Mercedes AMG 495 - Scuderia Ferrari 358 - Red Bull Racing 177 - Force India Mercedes 82 -- Williams Mercedes 53 -- Scuderia Toro Rosso 49 -- Haas Ferrari 47 -- Renault Sport 28 -- McLaren Honda 5 --- Sauber Ferrari
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT Despite the title having already been decided, the Brazilian Grand Prix was a matter of pride for the defeated Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari, as the championship runner up claimed his fifth victory of the season. Starting from front-row, the German made the better start over pole sitter Valtteri Bottas and then remained in the ascendency for the remainder of the race. Bottas bemoaned his slow start, which he believes cost him the race, despite a strategic ploy from Mercedes AMG to undercut the Ferrari – during their one and only pit-stop. In the end, the Finn raced home to secure second on the podium. The final place on the podium wasn’t decided until the final lap, with Kimi Räikkönen putting both Ferraris on the rostrum, holding off the admirable Lewis Hamilton – who started from the pit-lane and claimed fourth. A stellar drive of similar proportions to Hamilton, came from Daniel Ricciardo who once again started in the bottom half of the field with power-unit penalties. Having survived a Turn 1 incident involving Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne, who both retired, the Aussie raced back into sixth – finishing behind teammate Max Verstappen. With this being Felipe Massa’s final home grand prix, with the Brazilian set to retire at the end of the season, there was the onus on the São Paulo local to deliver a result worthy of a send-off and that he did – holding off Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez for seventh. In a grand gesture from the sport, Massa was invited onto the podium following the traditional ceremony for the top-three, where he was interviewed and paid tribute too by former Brazilian Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello and the adoring local fans. Rounding out the points was Nico Hulkenberg, claiming a solitary point for Renault. Just 7-points separate the sixth placed Toro Rosso in the constructor’s championship, from Haas and Renault in eighth – with neither of the other cars scoring points this time out. Haas’ race was made more miserable after Magnussen’s retirement, with Romain Grosjean being hit with a 10-second time penalty after he punted Esteban Ocon out of the race on the first lap. Rather comical was the fact that Grosjean’s engineer refrained from telling the Frenchman about the penalty, until just before the pit-stop – which resulted in a typical Grosjean outburst on the radio. Ocon’s first ever DNF ends an impressive streak of 27-consecutive race finishes, since the start of his career back at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
STANDBY FOR RACE REPORT AND UPDATED STANDINGS
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Roar Guru
PODIUM INTERVIEWS - Hosted by Kai Ebel VETTEL - "Initially I had a very good getaway." "After the safety car, we were pushing flat out." "It's been a tough couple of weeks for us, but its nice having both cars up here." BOTTAS - "Disappointed having started from pole." RÄIKKÖNEN - "Bwoah, it was only at the end it was tough." "It was impossible to get past here." "I had a pretty good run out of the last turn,"
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Roar Guru
Felipe Massa in his final appearance at Interlagos will be joining the top three on the podium, as São Paulo honours one of its favourite sons.
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Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 71-LAP BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX 1 S. Vettel 2 V. Bottas 3 K. Räikkönen 4 L. Hamilton 5 M. Verstappen 6 D. Ricciardo 7 F. Massa 8 F. Alonso 9 S. Perez 10 N. Hulkenberg 11 C. Sainz 12 P. Gasly 13 M. Ericsson 14 P. Wehrlein 15 R. Grosjean 16 L. Stroll RET B. Hartley RET E. Ocon RET K. Magnussen RET S. Vandoorne
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Roar Guru
SEBASTIAN VETTEL WINS THE BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX! Valtteri Bottas comes in behind the Ferrari to finish second for Mercedes AMG. And Kimi Räikkönen scores a third consecutive podium, finishing third just ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 71/71: Massa doing a stellar job to hold off Alonso and Perez in P7. Kimi fending off Hamilton just nicely also. It looks like it'll be a 90th trip to the rostrum for the Ferrari driver.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
FINAL LAP
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Roar Guru
Lap 70/71: 2 LAPS TO GO Hamilton closer on this lap to Räikkönen, but is unable to make a move as yet.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 69/71: 3 LAPS TO GO Hamilton's car not looking as solid as it was earlier. Left-front tyre for Stroll punctures.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 68/71: 4 LAPS TO GO Hamilton in the dirty air of the Ferrari is not looking as quick as earlier, though he is still within DRS range of Kimi.
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Roar Guru
Lap 67/71: 5 LAPS TO GO Big lock of the brakes for Hamilton going into Turn 1, giving Kimi a bit of a reprieve. Perez meanwhile attaches himself to the battle involving Massa and Alonso for P7.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 66/71: Hamilton within a second now Räikkönen on this lap! A DRS assault will surely be on the cards soon.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 65/71: Glory lap for Verstappen there, as he sets the fastest lap of the race and subsequently a new lap record for Interlagos, with a 1:11.044.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 65/71: Could Hamilton yet have a go at Vettel for the lead? He is 6 seconds behind the race leader.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 64/71: 1:11.845 another fast lap from Hamilton, as he moves within 2 second of Räikkönen. This'll get tasty as we near the end of the race..
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 63/71: Well, Red Bull pit Verstappen anyway then! It was a free stop anyway, with that 30+ second gap to his teammate Ricciardo in P6.