Valtteri Bottas will start on pole for Sunday’s Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton crashed out early in qualifying at Interlagos.
The Formula One drivers and constructors championships may already be settled, but there is still lots of racing to come in the 2017 season. Races from Brazil and Abu Dhabi remain on the calendar, meaning the gloves will come off and bare-knuckles racing is expected throughout the field. On Saturday in Interlagos, that no-holds-bars style came out in qualifying, with Valtteri Bottas on top.
The #77 Mercedes was not the car that many expected to be sitting on pole for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton, who had shown great pace throughout the weekend already in practice, crashed out of qualifying in spectacular fashion in Q1.
This will force the champion-elect to start at the rear of the grid on Sunday.
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Hamilton will be joined at the rear of the field for Sunday’s Grand Prix by three drivers serving engine and gearbox penalties from the race at Mexico. Daniel Ricciardo, Brendan Hartley, and Pierre Gasly will drop to the back half of the grid for engine changes, while Williams driver Lance Stroll will drop five spots for a gearbox change.
Back at the front of the field, Bottas beat out Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for the pole by just 0.04 seconds on Saturday in Interlagos. Kimi Raikkonen, Max Verstappen, and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top five fastest overall. Felipe Massa, who will be racing in his final home Grand Prix in F1, will start tenth.
Here are the full qualifying results ahead of Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix:
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG Petronas
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
- Max Verstappen, Renault, Red Bull Racing
- Daniel Ricciardo, Renault, Red Bull Racing*
- Sergio Perez, Mercedes, Force India
- Fernando Alonso, Honda, McLaren
- Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, Renault Sport
- Carlos Sainz Jr., Renault, Renault Sport
- Felipe Massa, Mercedes, Williams Martini Racing
- Esteban Ocon, Mercedes, Force India
- Romain Grosjean, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Stoffel Vandoorne, Honda, McLaren
- Kevin Magnussen, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Brendon Hartley, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso*
- Pascal Wehrlein, Ferrari, Sauber
- Pierre Gasly, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso*
- Lance Stroll, Mercedes, Williams Martini Racing*
- Marcus Ericsson, Ferrari, Sauber
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG Petronas
* – Will lose starting position due to penalty
Next: Max Verstappen in 2018 Championship Contention?
Be sure to tune in for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix from the Interlagos circuit. Coverage of the race can be seen on Sunday, November 12 at 11:00 AM eastern live on NBCSN and the NBC Sports app. Who do you think will win the race?