Brazil – Race: Esteban Ocon denies Max Verstappen the victory
While the Red Bulls were the fastest and Max Verstappen had a festival of overtakes, it was ultimately Lewis Hamilton who won the Brazilian Grand Prix thanks to Esteban Ocon. Indeed, the Frenchman collided with Max Verstappen, who was leading, while being lapped!
After a rain-disrupted qualifying session, the Brazilian Grand Prix started with clouds but a perfectly dry track. During the grid setup, an oil alert went off on Lewis Hamilton’s car, but the Briton was able to start without any issues, thus maintaining the advantage of his pole position.
Behind, Sebastian Vettel suffered from his soft tires and was overtaken by Valtteri Bottas. Similarly, Max Verstappen managed to get the better of Kimi Räikkönen, but Räikkönen was able to reclaim his position at the end of the first straight.
But Max Verstappen was in top form, overtaking both Ferraris successively. Sebastian Vettel’s day became even more complicated when he missed his braking, allowing Kimi Räikkönen to move back into fourth position. The Dutchman’s show continued when he found a gap on Valtteri Bottas to take second position and then went on to challenge Lewis Hamilton.
The Mercedes teams were the first to return to the pits, as early as the 19th and 20th laps due to blistering on their tires. Eight laps later, Ferrari decided to imitate Mercedes by bringing Sebastian Vettel in while it was evident that the Mercedes cars couldn’t get their tires to work. This allowed Daniel Ricciardo to significantly increase his pace. Four laps later, Kimi Räikkönen was called back in. Instead of gaining an advantage over Bottas, the Finn once again found himself behind his teammate, Sebastian Vettel. However, Ferrari instructed the German to move aside so the Finn could challenge his compatriot.
Red Bull attempted a strategic move by bringing Max Verstappen back into the pits on lap 36, but especially by fitting him with soft tires instead of mediums like the rest of the field. Thus, four laps later, he was able to launch an attack on the five-time world champion and take the lead.
But on the 45th lap, a dramatic turn of events: Esteban Ocon caused Max Verstappen to spin out while he was getting lapped! The Dutchman’s floor was heavily damaged, even though he managed to get back on track in second position. The Frenchman was penalized with a 10-second stop-and-go.
On the 55th lap, Ferrari brought Sebastian Vettel back in, as he didn’t have to keep up with the pace set by Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian was able to overtake Valtteri Bottas, who then dove into the pit lane to switch back to soft tires, 12 laps before the end.
This is yet another victory for Lewis Hamilton, who was nevertheless struggling with his tires throughout the race. Max Verstappen could have major regrets due to Esteban Ocon’s significant mistake while Kimi Räikkönen once again steps onto the podium, having resisted the fast return of Daniel Ricciardo. These results have allowed Mercedes to win a new Constructors’ World Championship title, their fifth consecutive one.
But in the Parc Fermé, Max Verstappen went to find Esteban Ocon at the weighing station to express his fury. The two men almost came to blows as the Dutchman was absolutely furious about the unacceptable move by the Force India driver.
