Sao Paulo Grand Prix

F1 releases ‘missing’ Verstappen’s onboard footage

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Formula 1 has released footage from Max Verstappen’s on-board camera in his first Turn 4 battle with title rival Lewis Hamilton. On lap 48 of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton attempted to overtake Verstappen around the outside of Turn 4, but found himself off the track with Verstappen, on the inside, pushing both cars extremely wide and into the run-off area. At the time, the stewards noted the incident but then quickly came to the decision that no investigation was necessary. Later, Hamilton would eventually make the move stick on Verstappen at the same corner and go on to win the race, narrowing the gap to 14 points behind the Red Bull driver at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. News emerged after the epic battle that the FIA did not have the on-board footage from Max Verstappen’s car to further assess whether an investigation was needed or not. Two days after the race, the missing footage has miraculously been found with Formula 1 posted an ‘all the angles’ video of Lewis v Max on their website. In the UK, Sky Sports also published the on-board footage via their Twitter account. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called the decision not to penalise Max Verstappen as “laughable”, while Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner said the incident should form part of the “let them race” mentality. Asked in the post-race press conference about the incident, Verstappen said his worn tyres were to blame in running wide at the corner. Asked by Motorsport.com for viewpoint, Verstappen said: “We both, of course, tried to be ahead into the corner and so I braked a bit later to try and keep the position. “The tyres were already a bit worn, so I was really on the edge of grip. That’s why I think I was already not fully on the apex, so then it’s a safer way of just running a bit wide there. “In a way I was, of course, happy that the stewards decided that we could just keep on racing because I think the racing in general was really good.”

Hamilton receives a fine for seatbelt infringement after Sao Paulo GP win

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Lewis Hamilton has been fined for undoing his seatbelts on the cooldown lap after his victory in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Hamilton won from 10th place on the grid ahead of championship rival Max Verstappen, but came under investigation for a seatbelt infringement after seeing the chequered flag. The Mercedes driver was seen stopping to take a Brazilian flag from a track marshal, holding it aloft in the cockpit as he celebrated his third win at Interlagos. But the stewards called Hamilton to a post-race hearing for breaching safety regulations in relation to undoing seatbelts after the race has been completed. The FIA announced Hamilton had been hit with a €5000 fine for the incident, with a further €20,000 suspended until the end of 2022. A statement issued by the FIA read, as quoted by Motorsport.com: “The driver of car 44, Lewis Hamilton, undid his seat belts on the in-lap at the end of the race. “While the Stewards are sympathetic to the desire to celebrate, it is fundamentally unsafe to undo the seatbelts while the car is in motion. Slow speeds in these cars are very fast for an unrestrained occupant. “Further, Formula 1 drivers set the example for junior categories. It is critical that junior category drivers learn the importance of using all the safety devices of the car at all times.” It marks the second investigation Hamilton has faced over the Brazil weekend, with the seven-time world champion excluded from qualifying for a technical infringement. The DRS on Hamilton’s car failed the FIA’s post-session check, leaving him at the back of the grid for Saturday’s sprint race, where he recovered to fifth place. Hamilton’s victory over Verstappen has closed the gap between the pair in the drivers’ standings to 14 points ahead of next weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton wins Sao Paulo GP after overcoming numerous grid penalties

Kevin Peterson09 mins

Lewis Hamilton scripted an epic win after a no-holds barred duel with Max Verstappen at the São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil. Valtteri Bottas joined his team-mate on the podium. This was a must win race for the reigning world champion at the nineteenth race of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. With three races to go, Hamilton could not let Verstappen extend his lead in the drivers’ championship to more than a race win. The Brazilian weekend has been an uphill battle after Hamilton won qualification and was disqualified for a DRS technical infringement. Hamilton started last in the sprint qualification race and fought back to fifth position. The Briton started tenth in the race after a five-place grid penalty was applied for a new power unit component. Hamilton from tenth place on the grid fought hard to take his sixth win of the season and cut the gap to Verstappen in the drivers’ championship to fourteen points. The race at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace circuit in São Paulo took place under hot conditions with air temperatures at 23 degree C and track temperatures at 55 degree C. Kimi Räikkönen made a pit lane start after his rear-wing was changed. Verstappen had a good start from second position and led pole-sitter Bottas into Turn 1. Bottas for good measure went off the track at Turn 4 and Sergio Pérez was in second position. It was a Red Bull Racing 1-2 by end of lap 1. Hamilton had gained three places and slotted into seventh position. Lando Norris had suffered a puncture as he tried to get past the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz into Turn 1 and pitted and rejoined in last position. By the end of lap 4, Hamilton was let past by Bottas and was in third position. Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll came together withTsunoda suffering extensive damage. The Safety Car was deployed as debris had to be removed from the track. On the restart, both the Red Bull Racing drivers made a good getaway from Hamilton. Hamilton had a hard battle with Pérez and finally overtook the Mexican on lap 19. Hamilton was now 3.6 seconds behind Verstappen and it was going to be a straight fight for the win between the championship rivals. On lap 23, Stroll was the first driver to pit for the hard compound tyres and rejoined in nineteenth position. On lap 27, Hamilton pitted for the hard compound tyres and rejoined in sixth position behind Daniel Ricciardo and ahead of Sebastian Vettel. The undercut is powerful at this track and Verstappen pitted on the next lap but his gap to Hamilton was cut to 1.5 seconds. On the next lap, Pérez pitted and rejoined in fifth position. The Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed due to debris on the track from Stroll’s car. This handed Bottas an advantage as he pitted under the VSC and rejoined in front of Pérez in third position. Behind them the two Scuderia Ferrari drivers, Pierre Gasly and the Alpine F1 team drivers were battling for position. Norris had progressed through the field to get himself into the points. On lap 41, Verstappen pitted for another set of hard compound tyres and rejoined in fifth position behind Leclerc. Bottas and Pérez pitted in quick succession in the next laps. Hamilton stayed out for another three laps in the lead of the race before he pitted and rejoined behind Verstappen. The gap between the two drivers was 2.6 seconds. Hamilton got himself within DRS-range and on lap 47 made an overtake move which Verstappen thwarted aggressively. The stewards noted the incident before deciding no action was necessary. On lap 59, Hamilton finally battled past Verstappen and cruised to a win. With all the setbacks Hamilton suffered this weekend, it was an epic win. Verstappen finished in second position and still leads the championship by 14 points. Bottas finished in third position and helped Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team extend the lead in the constructors’ championship to 11 points. Pérez finished in fourth position as he pitted in the final laps for the soft compound tyres to take the point for fastest lap from Hamilton. Leclerc finished ahead of Sainz as Ferrari had a good haul of points to increase their lead to the McLaren F1 team for third position in the constructor’s championship. Gasly battled his way to seventh position ahead of the Alpine F1 drivers, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Norris took the final solitary point after he battled his way from last position after the first lap incident. The epic duel between Verstappen and Hamilton will resume in Qatar next weekend (Nov 19-21 2021). The track at this new race on the Formula 1 calendar is an unknown quantity and adds more variables to this intense battle for the championships. 2021 F1 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX – RESULTS POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 71 Laps 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing + 10.496s 3 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 13.576s 4 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing + 39.940s 5 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 49.517s 6 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 51.820s 7 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 1 Lap 8 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 9 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 10 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 1 Lap 11 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 1 Lap 12 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 13 George Russell GBR Williams Racing + 1 Lap 14 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 15 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 1 Lap 16 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing + 1 Lap 17 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 2 Laps 18 Mick Schumacher…

Horner puzzled by Mercedes speed after Sao Paulo GP sprint race

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Red Bull chief Christian Horner underscored once again the “mind-boggling” straight-line speed of Mercedes’ W12 after Valtteri Bottas’ win and Lewis Hamilton charge to P5 in Saturday’s sprint event at Interlagos. Bottas was able to fend off Max Verstappen in the 24-lap mad dash thanks to a lightening start and a well-managed soft tyre strategy. But Horner was especially impressed with Hamilton’s charge from last on the grid to fifth during which the Briton, thanks to his top velocity, was in “a different league”. “Lewis’ straight-line speed is just mind-boggling,” Horner told Sky F1. “We’ve seen this coming for a few races now. Turkey, it started to be there. In Mexico, we saw the straight-line speed, I think they were about 14 km/h quicker at the end of the straight than we were, so it’s no great surprise. “We saw yesterday that it’s phenomenal, especially with the size of the rear wing that they have on the car.” Horner hinted at a potential ploy exploited by Mercedes to blast down the straights and suggested that Red Bull had perhaps a few theories, confirming also that the team’s CTO Adrian Newey had visited the stewards at Interlagos to discuss Mercedes’ top speed advantage. “It’s something that is enabling the car to do that kind of speed,” he said. “Something must happen, because physics wouldn’t allow…. “The kind of horsepower delta that you would need to achieve that, would be pretty significant. So we’re obviously trying to understand what it is and go from there.”

Verstappen tells the stewards to ‘have a fine dinner and expensive wine’ after €50,000 fine

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has urged the Sao Paulo Grand Prix stewards to enjoy ‘a nice dinner and expensive wine’ after being hit with a €50,000 fine. Verstappen was stung after being found guilty of breaking the International Sporting Code regarding parc fermé where he first inspected and then touched Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes following qualifying on Friday at Interlagos. While the stewards noted Verstappen meant no direct harm, the welter of video evidence ensured a punishment had to be meted out, with the Dutch driver hit firmly in the pocket. Asked about the sanction, tongue-in-cheek Verstappen said: “It’s quite a big fine so I hope they have a nice dinner, a lot of wine, good, expensive wine, that would be nice. “They can invite me for dinner as well, I’ll pay for their dinner, too.” Sat alongside Valtteri Bottas after being beaten by the Finn in the sprint, the Finn asked if he had to pay or the team, to which Verstappen replied: “I do have to pay.” Explaining his actions in parc fermé, Verstappen said: “Well, I was clearly looking at the wing. You could see on the video what I did exactly. “I was just looking at how much the wing was flexing at that point. It was nothing to do with the DRS.” On whether he and the team had any specific suspicions about the Mercedes wing, Verstappen made clear that Red Bull is in no doubt it is potentially illegal given its level of flexing. “There have been talks and things to look into because at a certain speed the wing is flexing,” said Verstappen. “At the beginning of the season, we had to all change the rear wings a bit because of the back-off but it seems like something is still backing off over there, that’s why I went and had a look.”

Bottas wins Sao Paulo GP Sprint race as Hamilton finishes 5th after starting from the back of the grid

Kevin Peterson08 mins

Valtteri Bottas denied Max Verstappen victory in the Sprint Qualifying race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Saturday as Lewis Hamilton drove from twentieth on the grid to finish an amazing fifth. Bottas got the jump on Verstappen at the start and was able to get ahead of the Red Bull Racing driver heading into turn one, whilst behind him Carlos Sainz Jr. moved from fifth on the grid to run third, getting ahead of both Pierre Gasly and Sergio Pérez. Sainz then moved ahead of Verstappen at turn four, with the Dutchman running wide as a result, although the positions switched back a few laps later at turn one once he was able to use the drag reduction system down the main straight. Hamilton, who had started at the back after being disqualified from Qualifying for a DRS infringement, made up four places on the opening lap and then made light work of the midfield runners to enter the top ten, although once there he was made to work harder, particularly against the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel. Bottas, running on the soft tyres, was able to keep enough life in them until the chequered flag to deny Verstappen the win, even when the Red Bull driver got close enough to open his drag reduction system on his rear wing. Bottas took the chequered flag at the end of the twenty-four laps 1.170 seconds clear to take the three points. Bottas and Verstappen ended well clear of the battle for third, with Sainz able to keep Pérez behind him all the way to the chequered flag. Pérez had a few attempts at passing the Scuderia Ferrari driver but to no avail, so the final point on offer went the way of the Spaniard. Lando Norris was a man on a mission early on as he rose to fifth, but he was Hamilton’s final victim heading into turn one on the final lap, with the McLaren F1 Team racer being forced to settle for sixth. Hamilton’s fifth place will turn into a tenth place start for Sunday’s race thanks to his grid penalty for an unscheduled change of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) ahead of the weekend. Charles Leclerc ended seventh in the second Ferrari ahead of Gasly, with the Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver struggling at the start and losing out massively to fall to seventh. Once Hamilton was passed him, he fell back further from those ahead of him and ended down in eighth, while the top ten was completed by Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team’s Vettel. Ricciardo missed out on the top ten after a poor start, with the second McLaren driver ending eleventh, just ahead of the second Alpine of Fernando Alonso, who also failed to get a good getaway off the line in Brazil. Antonio Giovinazzi survived an incident with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team-mate Kimi Räikkönen at turn one that spun around the Finn to finish thirteenth, with the Italian ending ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. Nicholas Latifi beat Williams Racing team-mate George Russell to sixteenth, while Räikkönen ended eighteenth after his spin, with the incident involving Giovinazzi not deemed serious enough to be investigated. The field was rounded out by Uralkali Haas F1 Team duo Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Bottas will start Sunday’s main race in São Paulo ahead of Verstappen, while Hamilton will have all the confidence in the world to move forward from tenth on the grid having made up fifteen places in just twenty-four laps on Saturday. After all, there are seventy-one laps to come on Sunday! 2021 F1 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX – SPRINT QUALIFYING RESULTS POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 24 Laps 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing + 1.170s 3 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 18.723s 4 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing + 19.787s 5 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 20.872s 6 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 22.558s 7 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 25.056s 8 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 34.158s 9 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team + 34.632s 10 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 34.867s 11 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team + 35.869s 12 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team + 36.578s 13 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 41.880s 14 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 44.037s 15 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 46.150s 16 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing + 46.760s 17 George Russell GBR Williams Racing + 47.739s 18 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 50.014s 19 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 61.680s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 67.474s After 

Lewis Hamilton disqualified from Sao Paulo GP Qualifying after DRS infringement

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Lewis Hamilton will start at the back of the pack for Saturday’s Sao Paulo Sprint after his Mercedes cars’ DRS mechanism was found in breach of technical regulations. FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer noticed that the Drag Reduction System (DRS) mechanism on Hamilton’s Mercedes seemed to open up more than the allowed gap of 85mm. The matter was referred to the stewards for investigation where is was deemed that the wing was in breach of regulations. Hamilton’s rear wing was impounded by the FIA following qualifying with Mercedes permitted to swap the wing for Free Practice Two on Saturday. Using a specialist tool, Hamilton’s rear wing was assessed and it was found that the rear wing did in fact open up more than the 85mm that is allowed and as such was in breach of Article 3.6.3 of the technical regulations. The stewards have therefore disqualified Hamilton from Friday’s qualifying and he will start at the back of the pack for Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying. This will surely hurt Briton’s hunt for a eighth title whose woe is compounded by a five-placed grid penalty for Sunday’s Grand Prix after an engine change. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was also called to the stewards office after he was witnessed touching the rear wing on Hamilton’s Mercedes during Parc Ferme conditions after qualifying. The Dutchman was fined fifty thousand euros with no further action taken. This promotes Verstappen to first for the Sprint, with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas in second. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez will line up third ahead of the Sprint later on Saturday. Hamilton’s five-place grid penalty for the engine change will take place after the Sprint and will be applied for the Grand Prix grid on Sunday.