Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team scored an improbable and exhilarating double podium at today's Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Interlagos.
Lewis delivered a famous win from P10 on the grid, having overcome disqualification from Friday's qualifying, to score his 101st career Formula One victory and his 80th for Mercedes. Valtteri started from pole and delivered a strong P3 podium finish, number 66 of his career, and was closing in quickly on Verstappen's Red Bull in the final laps.
Lewis overtook Verstappen on track on lap 59, having been forced off track at Turn 4 on lap 48, although the manoeuvre remained mystifyingly without investigation by the Stewards.
Max Verstappen (332.5 points) leads the Drivers' Championship from Lewis (318.5), with Valtteri in P3 (203 points). Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (521.5 points) lead Red Bull (510.5 points) by 11 points in the Constructors' Championship.
Toto Wolff: What a weekend from this team. We started the weekend on the backfoot with our self-inflicted engine penalty, we got disqualified yesterday which was harsh, and then today in the race, things went against us too. This team has always been together, but these decisions have brought us so close. It felt like everything was against us and I think that's what Lewis has felt all his life and we now feel it together as a team and we're going to fight - that is the emotion we're feeling in the garage at the moment.
Yesterday Lewis produced one of the best drives we have ever seen. I don't know how many overtakes there were across the weekend but Lewis was left, right, and over them. And today, his driving was immaculate. Max forced him off the road at Turn 4 and Lewis was very clever to avoid contact. It was great to see these amazing drivers but not giving a 5 second penalty? Come on!
Valtteri banked crucial points for the team today and his driving was top-class all weekend, a very strong podium for him today to follow his victory in the Sprint yesterday. This season keeps delivering and you can see how quickly the tides change - last weekend we went away beaten up in Mexico, this week we had the faster package. Red Bull could be very strong in Qatar next week and that is to be expected. May the stronger one win. Last weekend it was them, this weekend it was us - we'll fight to the end.
Andrew Shovlin: We've seen some impressive drives from Lewis over the years but that was incredible, we don't have the car advantage that we've had in years gone by but to do what he did this weekend was just amazing. Valtteri lost a bit of ground off the line and was pushed wide at turn one which gave him a difficult run to turn four. After that though, he did a brilliant job to recover to a podium, the VSC brought things our way but he was closing in on Max at the end and we were wishing the race was a couple of laps longer. It's been a busy weekend and whilst the win and double podium were the highlights, the most encouraging aspect was how strong the car pace was at a track that we were not strong in 2019 and how well the team and drivers have stuck together through was has been a really difficult weekend. We're looking forward to the challenge of the new track in Qatar and will be working non-stop over the next few days to try and arrive in as good a shape as possible.
Christian Horner, CEO and Team Principal: "To come away with second and fourth today, plus the fastest lap was damage limitation this weekend. We scored 20 points for Max this weekend versus their 25 for Lewis in the Drivers' Championship, so we'll take that. We put up as good a defence as we could, Max did his best and raced hard, and Checo made Lewis have two goes to get past, and he came back with a great move to reclaim the place after Lewis' first effort. But we saw Mercedes pace from Friday and then again yesterday, so today wasn't too much of a surprise. They did a good job and Lewis drove a great race today, so well done to them. We've got some catching up to do this week. There's a lot of racing still to go, so we'll brush ourselves down and come back fighting in Doha."
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: "A challenging Sunday afternoon for us with again just one point for a lot of effort. Unfortunately, after a good initial launch, Lando came together with Carlos [Sainz] which cost him a puncture and put him at the back with significant damage to the floor area resulting in a loss of performance. We kept fighting, Lando made his way through the field and did well to score a point, but it's obviously disappointing given where we started. On Daniel's side, he made up ground at the start and his race was going well until he was forced to retire, having suffered a power loss.
"The triple header has not gone well for us so far, but we're hoping to have a better run in just seven days' time. Irrespective of the result, everyone worked very hard this weekend, particularly given the intensity caused by the late arrival of our freight, and we had a competitive car. My thanks to everyone at the track, back at the factory and our colleagues at Mercedes HPP for their effort. We'll continue to work hard, and look forward to going again with some exciting, new races starting with Qatar next week."
Otmar Szafnauer, CEO & Team Principal: "Sebastian and Lance both made excellent starts to be sixth and 12th on lap one. The flying [Lewis] Hamilton passed Sebastian on lap two, then, one lap later, [Yuki] Tsunoda recklessly hurled his car down the inside of Lance's at Turn One, causing a collision, for which clumsiness he was rightly given a 10-second penalty. Thereafter, Lance did his very best, but his car had been so badly damaged by Tsunoda, and its performance so seriously compromised, that, through no fault of his own, we finally had to retire it. Sebastian ran as high as sixth at about one-third distance, but, unfortunately, also through no fault of his own, his pit stop occurred just before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed and that bad luck dropped him out of the points. In the end he finished 11th. Roll on Qatar."
Alpine F1 Team leaves part two of the three race triple header with six 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship points after Esteban Ocon finished eighth and Fernando Alonso took ninth in a thrilling Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The result leaves Alpine in fifth position in the Constructors' standings on 112 points heading into the final three races.
Esteban and Fernando were immediately involved in some thrilling on track battles with the pair scrapping with Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo in the opening exchanges of the 71-lap race. Once the dust settled, Esteban had dropped one place to ninth despite a nice overtake on the McLaren, while Fernando climbed into eleventh.
After a short Safety Car interlude for loose debris, Ricciardo managed to peg Esteban back for ninth with Fernando also caught out by Lance Stroll after the restart. The Spaniard salvaged the position after some impressive pace got him back ahead of the Aston Martin.
Esteban was the first to box for fresh Hards after capitalising on a brief Virtual Safety period. Fernando stayed out after missing out on the advantage to pit, and eventually switched to Hards on lap 34.
On fresh tyres, Fernando showed electric pace and was determined to make up some of the lost ground after the pit-stop. His scorching pace allowed him to climb three places in a matter of laps, before both he and Esteban found themselves in the final points scoring positions. Problems ahead for Ricciardo further promoted Esteban to eighth and Fernando nicely into ninth.
With strong pace Fernando was graciously let through by his team-mate to try pressure the Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly, who had just boxed for a second time. On fresher rubber, he soon caught up to the Alpine pair and despite some valiant teamwork, he eventually made his way past both thanks to the tyre advantage.
Fernando and Esteban ran the remainder of the race in eighth and ninth before kindly switching positions back in a moment of comradery on the last lap to bring six solid points home for the team.
Laurent Rossi, Chief Executive Officer, Alpine Cars: "We're very pleased to have both cars inside the points for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix. Not only does it mean we remain fifth in the Constructors' Championship, it also confirms a return to a good competitiveness level after a run of races, which has left us searching for answers. Today's race was entertaining, and it was good we could put on a show for an electric Brazilian crowd. As a team, we can be proud of our teamwork today as demonstrated by Esteban and Fernando on-track. After Gasly's second pit-stop, we opted to stick to a one-stop strategy and defend as best as we could from him. First, Esteban allowed Fernando to pass in order to create a tow with the aim of keeping Gasly behind. While this worked for a handful of laps, ultimately, with the tyre advantage he had, we weren't able to hold out. Fernando returned the position on the last lap to Esteban underlining both drivers' impressive team spirit to help each other and, in parallel, drive the team forwards. Our focus switches straight to Qatar for the final round of the triple header. We're heading into the relatively unknown, but that's an exciting challenge, which we're looking forward to taking on."
Another solid weekend for Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow, scoring 18 points this afternoon courtesy of a fifth place for Charles Leclerc and a sixth for Carlos Sainz. It means the team makes a significant step forward in terms of the Constructors' classification, as its lead over McLaren has extended to 31.5 points.
The race had been planned out to the smallest detail with the aim of getting both cars behind the two teams fighting for the titles. The strategy and pit stops were well executed and the drivers did an intelligent job of tyre management, pushing when they had to, without making any mistakes. The SF21 worked well on both the Medium and Hard compounds, running at a reasonable pace, capable of maintaining the positions gained in the opening laps.
The trio of races in the Americas saw a positive trend for the Scuderia which will allow it to tackle the final three Grands Prix in the Middle East knowing it can fight right to the end for third place, which is the realistic goal for this final part of the season. Two of the remaining three races take place on tracks that Formula 1 has never raced on before, so preparing well for the weekends will be even more important, as will be reliability, always a crucial factor.
Mattia Binotto, Team Principal: A good result in terms of the championship, given that we have doubled our lead over our closest rivals in the Constructors' classification. Having said that, a 31.5 point lead doesn't mean that it's done and dusted, far from it. We know the situation can change in an instant and that our opponents are very strong.
During what proved to be a busy weekend, the team, both at the track and back in Maranello, worked very hard and with great precision, tackling every situation with the right approach. Today, every aspect of the race was managed well - strategy, tyre management and pit stops - and the drivers produced a clean and effective performance.
There are now just three races to go and we must continue in this fashion to reach what has become our goal for the end of season.
Guillaume Dezoteux (Head of Vehicle Performance): "We can be happy with the result today. We started Pierre on the Mediums and after the safety car periods, he was able to gain position on Vettel, then follow the train ahead. The tyre degradation was significant on this hot track, so the two-stop race was the fastest option for us at the time. After his first pitstop, Pierre drove a solid second stint, opening the gap to Ricciardo and Ocon, but we could also see that Alonso was quite fast too, trying to make the one-stop work. After our second pitstop, the target was clear, we had to pass both Alpines on track with our fresher tyres. The battle was really intense and, with Alonso giving the DRS to Ocon, we couldn't get close enough for overtaking both before T1 and T4, which are the only places where it is possible. The fight lasted six laps, but Pierre made superb moves on both and secured 7th place. Regarding Yuki's race, it was compromised very early on, as he had an incident with Stroll. He sustained significant damage and this affected a lot of his race pace, which is unfortunate. After 19 races, we are still on the same points as Alpine, which makes this end of season extremely exciting for all of us and our fans. The fight is on, we will make it!"
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN produced a battling display in the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing 12th after starting from the pit lane and Antonio Giovinazzi following him home in 14th. The result brings the team no points, but the pace and the fighting shown on track, with numerous battles against our rivals, demonstrates the team continues to be in the tussle for top ten finishes on Sunday.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "Independently from our own result, the Brazilian Grand Prix was an absolute thriller and a great advertising for our sport. Starting in P13 with Antonio and from the pit lane with Kimi, after we had chosen to swap some components of his car after yesterday's sprint, we knew we would have our work cut out to be in the points. Still, we put up a good fight, with a decent number of battles and we ran as good a race as we could, with good stops and good pace. In the end, crossing the line in P12 and P14 was as much as we could do in the circumstances. Even if we didn't get points, we have shown to be in the fight for the top ten and we can hope to continue aiming for points in the final three races of the year, starting next Sunday in Qatar."
Uralkali Haas F1 Team drivers Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher classified 17th and 18th respectively at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Brazil.
Mazepin took the start on Pirelli P Zero Yellow mediums from 19th place and avoided trouble to surge up to 14th - the Russian retaining that position through a safety car period caused by debris on track. Mazepin remained in the midfield group shortly and settled into a rhythm, pitting on lap 35 of 71 to move onto White hard tires, which he preserved through to the checkered flag.
Schumacher started from 18th on mediums and gained on the opening lap to hold 15th position. Unfortunately, Schumacher and Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Räikkönen made light contact on lap 11, leaving Schumacher with front wing damage, and necessitating an unscheduled pit stop for the German. Schumacher came in for repairs, took on hard compound tires, before coming in again on laps 31 and 63, adopting medium tires on both occasions.
Uralkali Haas F1 Team's 2021 Formula 1 season will continue with the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, at the Losail International Circuit, from November 19 to 21 - the final leg of the current triple-header.
Guenther Steiner: "Our race today was pretty good - the starts were good. Mick made a lot of progress and Nikita as well. Mick ran into Kimi and that compromised his race, but Nikita's first stint was very good. I think this was one of our best weekends this year and that shows we are getting there with the drivers. All in all, the result is not fantastic, but the progress is."
George Russell finished 13th and Nicholas Latifi 16th in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Nicholas started 16th and George 17th, both on the medium Pirelli tyres.
George stopped twice, initially pitting under the safety car on lap seven and subsequently under racing conditions on lap 41, taking new hard tyres at each stop. Nicholas also ran a two-stop race, taking a fresh set of the hard compound tyres on laps 13 and 39.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: Today was enjoyable, and although we ultimately lacked the pace to score a point, we put together a strong race in tricky circumstances. With multiple pitstops required, and several interventions from the Safety Car and the Virtual Safety Car (VSC), there was opportunity to win and lose time and it was important to manage the car through the interventions. We had a poor opening lap and so took an early opportunity to pit George and get him onto the more robust Hard tyre, on which he showed good pace, including a particularly strong final stint. Nicholas was less fortunate as the VSC cleared whilst he was in the pit lane, which put him a little further down the road than he would otherwise have been. However, in the free air, he was able to manage the car well and apply pressure to Tsunoda.
Overall, today was a good workout for the whole team as we rarely get to do genuine multiple stop races these days. The addition of the (virtual) safety cars and the high track temperature made for a busy but interesting race. We didn't get everything right, we could've done a little better with Nicholas's first pitstop - however, we did a lot of things very well and learnt a lot in the process, which will help further our development as a strong race team.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Brazilian Grand Prix with a two-stop medium-hard-hard strategy: the same tactic used by all the top three drivers.
Hamilton started from P10 on the grid and worked his way up through the field, making his first pit stop one lap before race leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull) but his second stop three laps later. He subsequently passed Verstappen to win the race and narrow the gap in the championship.
Most drivers stopped twice, but there was also three one-stop and two three-stop strategies seen during the race, with seven different combinations of compounds. This underlines the variety of tactics implemented.
All the drivers started the race on the P Zero Yellow medium C3 tyre (with a free choice allowed, following Sprint Qualifying rules). The only exception was AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda, who opted for the P Zero Red soft. Red Bull's Sergio Perez was the only other driver to use the soft during the race, fitting it on the penultimate lap to claim the point for fastest lap at the end.
The grand prix started in warm ambient temperatures of 24 degrees and track temperatures of 50 degrees: around 20 degrees hotter than the cool track temperatures seen yesterday (and similar to FP2 on Saturday morning). The temperatures remained quite consistent throughout the race.
Within the first 15 laps there was a safety car period, followed by other two virtual safety cars in the first half of the race, helping to minimise tyre wear at a crucial point with the cars on full fuel.
Mario Isola: "Strategy was at the forefront of this finely-balanced grand prix, with similar performance between the frontrunners and a number of strategies that were on paper very closely matched. Track temperature was the biggest influence on the strategy today, with temperatures that were around 20 degrees higher than yesterday's Sprint Qualifying, shifting the balance away from the softer compounds towards the harder compounds. The hard was the main race tyre, performing very well with some impressive lap times in these challenging conditions. With the first stint lasting a little longer due to safety cars, the drivers were able to gain more flexibility for the second stint. There was a clear tactical battle involving the ‘undercut', especially among the frontrunners, and that's the reason why the central stint on the hard tyre was so short for some of the top drivers. Lewis Hamilton did a very impressive job over the weekend: from the back of the grid in Sprint Qualifying all the way to the top step of the grand prix podium."
