The first race of the 2019 F1 season took place last weekend at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Lewis Hamilton had a strong start to his title defense as he took second from Valtteri Bottas’s Mercedes team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, but was caught up by Max Verstappen and Seb Buurhout for third before being passed again by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel on lap 8. However, this time he fought back with 3 laps remaining as Verstappen made contact with Grosjean giving Hamilton a clear track ahead which allowed him take victory after starting 12th on the grid. The British driver now has 43 points to help him maintain his pursuit of defending champion Charles Leclerc who starts 4th today..
The “Sao Paulo Grand Prix start time” is the race that will take place on Sunday, October 28th. The track in Sao Paulo is a very interesting one with many turns and high speed corners. Valtteri Bottas won the last race here and he will be looking to win again this weekend.
In sprint qualifying, Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas defeated Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and will start the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from pole position.
Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen’s championship opponent, began at the rear when a technical infraction was discovered on his vehicle, recovered admirably to finish sixth.
Hamilton will start 10th after receiving a five-place grid penalty for using too many engine components in the Grand Prix.
Verstappen’s second-place finish gave him a 21-point advantage over Hamilton.
Hamilton, who scythed through the field in surgically aggressive manner, showcasing superb speed in his Mercedes, put forth a standout effort.
Hamilton will consider it a job well done after what was perhaps one of his greatest efforts of the season in the circumstances of a very challenging weekend.
At the start, Bottas seized the lead from Verstappen.
How did Bottas come out on top?
Mercedes’ choice to run the sprint – one third of the distance of the main grand prix – on the’soft’ tyre, while Verstappen and Red Bull picked the medium, gave Bottas the win.
Bottas was able to leapfrog Verstappen into the first curve and gain a modest advantage during the first few circuits because to the additional grip provided by the tyres.
Later in the race, when Bottas’ less-durable tyres started to wear, Verstappen surged back at him, but after drawing to within 0.4 seconds of the Finn, he dropped back a bit and had to settle for second.
Taking a chance on the soft tyres paid off for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who sped ahead from fifth on the grid to third at the first turn after sweeping past two cars at the start. The Spaniard drove admirably to maintain his lead over Sergio Perez’s second Red Bull throughout the race.
The sprint event’s regulations provide points to the top three finishers, and Bottas’ victory aided Hamilton as much as he could by denying Verstappen the full three points allowed and reducing him to two.
Verstappen received a hefty penalties for hitting Hamilton’s rear wing.
A fantastic performance, but what was the point of all the drama?
After a fantastic performance in difficult conditions, Hamilton took the last spot from McLaren’s Lando Norris at the start of the final lap.
With his five-place grid penalty after Mercedes grabbed a fifth engine, Hamilton knew he’d be on the back foot heading into Friday’s qualifying session.
Each driver is only permitted three each season, but Mercedes is having reliability issues and needs another to give Hamilton the greatest opportunity in the last four races.
Hamilton then dominated qualifying, winning by almost 0.4 seconds, but Red Bull had seen something strange with his rear wing and reported it to race organizers.
Officials assessed the vehicle and discovered that the gap in Hamilton’s wing when the DRS overtaking assistance was turned on was wider than allowed.
The stewards postponed making a definitive judgement until the next day to enable Mercedes to submit further evidence, but he was finally disqualified a few hours before the race.
Verstappen was fined £42,300 for touching Hamilton’s rear wing, ostensibly to evaluate the situation for himself.
Hamilton had to start from the back of the grid, but he went about his business with a passion.
On the first lap, he gained five positions, and after that, he made incredible progress through the midfield vehicles and into the top ten, overtaking cars lap after lap.
Many of the maneuvers were easy DRS-assisted passes, but Norris’ last move was a beautiful dive up the inside of the Senna S, the first curve.
Hamilton seems to have a chance of finishing on the podium on Sunday based on his Saturday speed.
However, with Verstappen starting second, the seven-time champion’s championship chances are expected to suffer a significant setback.
The “f1 news” is the latest in Formula One. It includes the “Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint: Valtteri Bottas wins as Lewis Hamilton fights back”, which was won by Valtteri Bottas.
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