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Everything you need to know about the Brazilian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton gets a present and wins the Brazilian Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen finishes second after a dramatic collision while lapping Esteban Ocon.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton won the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, leading Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen over the line by 1.4 seconds at the chequered flag, with Kimi Räikkönen a further 3.2 seconds adrift for Ferrari. In claiming victory, Hamilton ensured that Mercedes are 2018 Constructors' world champions, but the real talking point was Verstappen being denied victory by a collision with Esteban Ocon.
Verstappen and the RB14 were the car to watch right from the start. Starting from P5, he clearly had more pace than the Ferraris ahead, and passed both in the early exchanges. The Dutchman then set about chasing down the fast-starting Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas.
Once Bottas was cleared on lap 10, Verstappen set about hounding race leader Hamilton. The Brit declined an on-track battle, taking an early stop for fresh rubber, while Verstappen went long. On the fresher rubber, Hamilton was able to match him, and, once Verstappen stopped, Hamilton regained the lead. It was a brief respite. With the tyre advantage, Verstappen soon retook the lead and was pulling away.
Interlagos is a short track however, and the leaders were having to waltz around backmarkers constantly. On lap 44, Verstappen tripped over Ocon. The Frenchman had pitted a few laps earlier, and on a good pace with the fresh rubber, was seeking to un-lap himself. Going into the Senna S corners, Verstappen went to the inside and Ocon the outside, but didn't appear to back out of the throttle. When Verstappen then swept across on the racing line at the exit of the chicane they touched, and both cars spun.
Verstappen was swiftly pointing the right way again, but Hamilton was already a long way down the road. The Red Bull driver gave chase, but with a damaged floor and a sizeable deficit, could not claw it back.
Max Verstappen on the podium
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Ocon was blamed for the crash with Verstappen, picking up a 10 second stop-and-go penalty, but Verstappen had made his displeasure known from the cockpit, and again in parc ferme. He was calmer and more reflective by the time he reached the press conference room, though. "I'm trying to do my race and a backmarker tries to race you. What can I do about it?" he said, crestfallen.
The weekend at Interlagos
Contact!
After tangling on track, Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon continued their feud on the FIA scales in the garage, when words were exchanged, and then shoves. That was followed by summons to the stewards for an alleged breach of Article 12.1.1.c) of the FIA International Sporting Code – an 'act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally'.
It had been an ill-tempered weekend in general down at the usually quiet FIA garage, with Sebastian Vettel handed a €25,000 fine for not obeying instructions and destroying their weighbridge during qualifying.
Daniel Ricciardo fought through the field again to finish fourth
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Ricciardo on the charge
Interlagos proved once again that there's not much wrong with Formula One given the right sort of circuit. The Autódromo José Carlos Pace is an old-school track, with plenty of grip that takes a lot out of the tyres, and the long run up the hill from the fast Junção to the downhill, off-camber braking zone for the multi-line Senna S presents a decent overtaking opportunity. It doesn't provide an easy overtake, but it does allow a superior car or brave driver the chance to have a proper go at it.
Daniel Ricciardo exemplified that better than anyone. The Red Bull driver qualified P6, but started P11. He made his way back past the midfield runners and up to P6 by lap five, and there he might have stayed on another circuit. Instead, the driver who's arguably F1's most clinical overtaker hounded and bullied his way past Vettel, and then Räikkönen. After his pit stop, he tore past Vettel again, taking Bottas next. Ricciardo's race ended with a great battle against Räikkönen, but the Finn held firm to keep the last place on the podium.
McLaren for Indy
Fernando Alonso's future became clearer at Interlagos, with McLaren announcing they will field a team at the Indianapolis 500 next year. Alonso will drive, continuing his attempt to replicate Graham Hill's feat of winning the triple crown of victories at Le Mans, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500.
Unlike their 2017 Indy adventure, in which Alonso raced an Andretti-Honda painted in McLaren colours, the next tilt at the famous race McLaren won three times in the 1970s, will be closer to a works effort. McLaren's management refused to be drawn on whether it would be fielding a single car or a bigger entry at America's most famous race.
The Vietnamese Grand Prix is go
The big news in the build up to the Brazilian Grand Prix was the announcement of a new race in Hanoi. The Vietnamese Grand Prix will debut in 2020, probably in the opening sequence of races. The news wasn't exactly revelatory: F1 has been building interest in Vietnam for several years, culminating in May with a very successful Red Bull Racing Live Demo with David Coulthard in Ho Chi Minh City.
25 races?
With 21 races on the calendar in 2019, Vietnam joining in 2020, and F1 not giving up on securing a Miami Grand Prix, plus ongoing interest in Holland and Denmark, much of the talk in a tired Interlagos paddock was about how many races is too many?
Lewis Hamilton was succinct in his assessment, claiming he wouldn't still be racing in F1 were the season to be extended to 25 races – the number often mooted as being the target for new owners Liberty Media. "I'm not going to be here if it gets to 25 races," said the reigning world champion. "It already feels like we are on race number 25 this year. I don't think more races is going to be a good thing. I really love racing, but the season is long, and it takes a big commitment from all of us. It's a long time away from our families."
Champions again
First and fifth places at Interlagos gave Mercedes a fifth consecutive Constructors' World Championship title. Coming into the race, Ferrari needed to outscore Mercedes by at least 13 points to keep their title hopes alive, but with Mercedes running first and second at the end of the first lap, that looked like a forlorn hope. Mercedes now lead Ferrari by 620 points to 553, leaving them 67 points ahead with a maximum of 43 available at the final race in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari still hold the record, winning six in a row between 1999 and 2004. Mercedes clearly have something to aim for.
