Verstappen loses pole position to Bottas in Brazil as Hamilton gains 15 places

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13 November 2021 at 20:00
Last update 13 November 2021 at 22:14
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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Valtteri Bottas will start on pole position for the 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend after a strong drive in Brazil. On the Intarglos circuit, the Mercedes driver went for an aggressive start on the soft tyres and made the move on Max Verstappen at the first corner. The Dutchman loses his P1 position, whilst his rival for the title Lewis Hamilton gained 15 places to P5. He will start Sunday's race from 10th due to another penalty. 

Hamilton started at the back of the grid for the 100km dash. The seven-time World Champion was due to start on pole position, but Mercedes breached the DRS regulations in qualifying. Mercedes installed a brand new internal combustion engine to Hamilton's car on Friday and the Brit, therefore, picked up a five-place grid penalty for Sunday's Grand Prix because he has used more ICE than allowed in one season. He will start from 11th after an aggressive drive through the field. He proved that a podium finish in tomorrow's race is possible. 

Verstappen hunted down Bottas throughout the race, but couldn't make the overtake. Carlos Sainz held off a strong Perez for the final podium place. 

How it happened 

Mercedes opted for an aggressive start by placing Bottas on the soft tyres. Most drivers picked the yellow stripped mediums. The aggressive option worked with Bottas taking the lead at the first corner. Hamilton gained four places at the start. Sainz, who also started on the soft tyres, moved ahead of Verstappen but the Dutchman came back into P2 by lap four. Kimi Raikkonen dropped back seven places. 

Hamilton moved up to P12 by lap seven of the race but got stuck behind two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso. But unlike Hungary, Hamilton made the move on his former teammate within a couple of laps. Hamilton came up against a McLaren with the same power unit. He moved ahead of Ricciardo on lap 13.

At the front, Bottas' soft tyres started to fade and on lap 14 the Dutchman moved into DRS range. The Red Bull driver struggled to make the overtaking move whilst his teammate Perez hunted down the final podium place. Hamilton had room for one final successful lunge on Norris in the penultimate lap to pick off P5.