Valtteri Bottas wins the sprint race ahead of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton will start tenth on Sunday

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For the third and last sprint race of the season, Saturday 13 November, at Interlagos (Brazil), Valtteri Bottas won ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari). The Finn takes pole position for the Grand Prix and wins three points in the world championship standings.

Lewis Hamilton, who started last after receiving a penalty, climbed to fifth position but will start tenth due to a penalty of five places on the grid for a change of thermal engine. The seven-time world champion still sees Max Verstappen, second behind Bottas on Saturday, take two more points in the drivers’ standings.

A week after his failed start in Mexico, which had left the door open for Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas perfectly negotiated that of the sprint race in Brazil. The Finn, who started second, got the better of Max Verstappen from the first few meters of the race, then managed to contain the Red Bull behind him. At the same time he does business for his team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in the constructors’ standings, taking three points, one more than the Dutchman.

Starting last after being disqualified from Friday’s qualifying due to an irregular DRS, Lewis Hamilton has made short work of his competitors, or at least fifteen of them. From the first lap, the Briton passed four single-seaters, before taking up positions little by little until fifth place after the 24 laps allocated for this sprint race.

But due to a penalty for changing the thermal engine, he will start from tenth place on the Grand Prix grid. He will have to perform very well if he wants to keep some suspense in the title race as his gap with leader Max Verstappen widened by two more points, 21 in total, on Saturday.

On the French side, Pierre Gasly, who started fourth, lost many positions from the start and will start eighth, just ahead of Esteban Ocon.


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