Being a driver in Formula 1 means that life comes at you fast. Max Verstappen learned that after having a race win stolen from him.
With the question of who would take home the 2018 Formula 1 driver championship settled, the Brazilian Grand Prix took on a tempo of competition with drivers jockeying for potential gains through the practice and qualifying sessions.
The race itself was one of excitement and drama that for once was not 100% brought on by Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel, though the latter did pick up a hefty fine after damaging an expensive set of FIA car scales during qualifying.
With the end of the Formula 1 season looming in the near future, here are the winners and losers from the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Winners
Red Bull Racing
There is no team that seem to be able to manufacture come-from-behind drives quite like the plucky Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. Max Verstappen started the race in fifth place with teammate Daniel Ricciardo in 11th. With Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace being a mix of medium-speed to low-speed corners, the Red Bull Racing teammates were set to contend with their rivals that all too often enjoy pronounced horsepower advantages.
Starting from 11th place with a freshly installed turbo, Ricciardo did his best to move forward through the field. He made his most impressive passes after coming in for tires and working his way back up through the field. He finished the race in fourth after dogging Kimi Raikkonen for much of the race.
Ricciardo made multiple attempts to move past the Ferrari, but the lack of power that he had available to him compared to the amount of power that Raikkonen had available to him kept Ricciardo behind.
Verstappen, meanwhile, had no intentions of staying in fifth place. He began working his way up the running order without hesitation. He managed to set strong lap times and maintain his tires at the same time. This brought him into competition with race leader Lewis Hamilton, who was struggling with tire degradation.
Verstappen passed the five-time champion and opened up a sizable lead. He looked to have another race win in sight. But on lap 44, a 16th place Esteban Ocon was looking to unlap himself and made a slightly optimistic overtake attempt on Verstappen while going into turn one. Ocon made contact with the side of Verstappen’s car, which sent the pair spinning. Hamilton drove between the two en route to taking yet another victory. Verstappen finished in second.
Haas
The constructor championship in the “best of the rest” field, which includes Renault Sport, Haas, Racing Point Force India and McLaren, looks to be clinched by Renault, which currently have 114 points. Haas were the only team in the “best of the rest” running have both of their drivers score points in the race.
More from Formula One
- Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
- Formula 1: Why the Max Verstappen retirement obsession?
- Formula 1: Williams ‘mistake’ hints Logan Sargeant’s future
- Formula 1 awaiting key confirmation for 2024 season
- Formula 1: The ‘championship’ Max Verstappen only leads by 3 points
Romain Grosjean has been walking on eggshells trying to avoid drawing more attention to himself, as the Frenchman is only a few FIA Super License points away from receiving a race ban. He once again out-qualified teammate Kevin Magnussen and placed his car in ninth on the starting grid for the race. He managed to keep his race relatively uneventful en route to an eighth place finish.
Magnussen was unable to break out of the second qualifying session and started the race in 11th place. When the race began, he quickly found himself stuck behind the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson. Magnussen and Ericsson nearly came to blows multiple times, but Magnussen eventually moved by as Ericsson suffered damage to his car from fighting hard for positions.
Losers
Driver manners
Racing, like any sport, puts a massive demand on the teams that prepare the cars and the drivers that compete for points every weekend. Emotions are to be expected, but this race was an example of just how many different ways there are to make a Formula 1 driver angry.
- During qualifying, multiple drivers became frustrated by slow cars getting in the way and ruining potentially strong flying laps. One example involved Sergey Sirotkin and Lewis Hamilton. Sirotkin received much scolding afterward.
- During the race, Scuderia Toro Rosso teammates Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly had a squabble over swapping positions with Hartley being on a softer tire than Gasly.
- After the Verstappen/Ocon collision on lap 44, Verstappen was understandably hot under the collar and found Ocon after the race. He delivered a few passionate shoves before storming off angrily. He was ordered to serve two days of community service to restore his public image.
Marcus Ericsson
Ericsson has been one of the most pronounced “second drivers” in the Formula 1 field with the emergence of his superstar young teammate, Charles Leclerc. Ericsson looked to pull a rare points haul after outqualifying Leclerc for the race.
The luck did not last for Ericsson, who suffered from structural problems eve nduring his formation lap. He attempted to battle hard with Kevin Magnussen and even began holding up a train of cars. He lost even more bodywork and a significant amount of pace. He ended up tumbling down the running order and retiring due to the undrivable condition of his car.
The final race of the 2018 Formula 1 season is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 25 from Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Live coverage is set to begin at 8:10 a.m. ET on ESPN2.