(Sao Paulo) Finland’s Valtteri Bottas earned the lead ahead of the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday after winning the qualifying race held at the Interlagos circuit.
At the end of a day marked by penalties imposed on the two main players in the race for the Formula 1 drivers’ championship, Bottas, on Mercedes, was in order ahead of the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and the Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).
“The start was decisive. We took the gamble of soft gums. It was hit and miss towards the end, but Max was having a hard time keeping up with some corners, ”said Bottas.
Although he could not take away the honors of the sprint race, Verstappen felt that it was only a postponement for him.
PHOTO CARL DE SOUZA, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
Lewis Hamilton driving his Mercedes.
“I didn’t have the best start, but we decided to go for the hard tires, which didn’t make my job any easier. The pace was good, but as soon as you get close to an opponent here, then it becomes impossible to overtake him. I will try again tomorrow [dimanche] “, He mentioned.
For his part, Quebecer Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) finished in 14e square.
As for Lewis Hamilton, he finished fifth in this atypical qualification. However, due to a five-place penalty incurred on Friday for changing the engine, the Briton will start from 10e place on the grid on Sunday.
“I didn’t know what I would be able to do. During the warm-up lap I could see the holder of the 10e position, so I figured that had to be my goal. I then took the start, and I gained a lot of speed, ”said the seven-time world champion.
“While the team chatted with the commissioners, I tried to concentrate on my work with the engineers, so that we could keep our optimism. decision [des commissaires] was demoralizing. But I had to hang on and persevere. Focus on what I could do, and give it my all, ”Hamilton summed up.
This was of course an encouraging result for Hamilton, since he had been relegated to the back of the grid a few hours earlier following a penalty awarded by the commissioners.
“It’s not over yet,” Hamilton said over the radio after crossing the finish line in the sprint race.
His performance also seemed to destabilize many, including the McLaren driver Lando Norris, who had to do battle with the Mercedes driver.
« Ça ne servait à rien d’endommager mes pneus afin de retenir Hamilton [derrière moi]. Going from last to fifth place in 24 laps… next time we should limit him to three tires to make it more difficult for him, ”said Norris, tongue-in-cheek.
The penalty followed the discovery of an irregularity in the Drag Reduction System (SRT) of the Briton’s Mercedes after Friday’s qualifying session.
Hamilton had dominated this session ahead of Verstappen, which assured him to start the qualifying race from the first position on the starting grid.
However, the race marshals canceled Hamilton’s time, as they judged that his SRT was not in accordance with the rules.
Mercedes decided not to appeal the decision and suddenly Verstappen started the qualifying race from the top position.
Shortly before the sanction against Hamilton, the commissioners also imposed a fine of $ 71,810 on Verstappen.
The move came following the release of a video recorded from the stands at the Interlagos circuit showing the Dutchman touching the rear wing of Hamilton’s car, while it was in the parc fermé – a secure area for cars.
Verstappen could appeal the decision of the stewards, who clarified that he had not caused harm to his competitor’s racing car by touching it.
The video, recorded by a spectator, shows Verstappen appearing to inspect the rear wing of the Mercedes in the parc fermé.
In their decision, the Commissioners also noted that there was no precedent for penalties for such a case. However, as this is still a violation of the rules in place, with the potential for “serious consequences”, the Commissioners felt it necessary to act.
Article 2.5.1 of the FIA sporting code states that “access to the parc fermé is restricted to assigned officials. No operation, verification, tune-up or repair is permitted unless these same officials give permission ”.
The Brazilian Grand Prix will be the third in 2021 to adopt the qualifying race format. This served to establish order on the starting grid for the real race, scheduled for Sunday. The other two events presented in this atypical format took place at Silverstone and Monza earlier this season.
With Mauricio Savarese, Associated Press