The 2019 Formula 1 season is inevitably coming to an end. The second last round of the calendar was hosted by Brazil. From the very first moment of the qualifying, there was one driver, who owned the circuit, and it was Red Bull's Verstappen. Charles was the only driver to come out on the medium Pirellis in Q2; the Monegasque was to serve a 10-place grid penalty due to multiple power unit elements change. Charles made a remarkable job, clocking the fastest lap time on the harder tyres. But out of the shadows came Verstappen, who displaced the Ferrari ace from the top spot. Sebastian was third fastest in the second session; in spite of the soft tyres, he was two tenths shy of his teammate. Presumably, there was also more to come from the Silver Arrows in the decisive session.
Eight thousandths of a second decided the provisional pole in Verstappen's favor! The Dutchman had made a clear mistake on his first attempt, and Sebastian in P2 had also had a wobble in the last corner. Charles was third, followed by the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas. Margins were minimal, which meant, that any of the three big teams could make it on pole. Verstappen continued his magical performance by improving his lap time on his last flyer, claiming his second career pole. Sebastian underlined the excellent performance of the Red Team by making it on the front row. Hamilton found some extra pace on his last run, and robbed Charles of his third place. Due to the grid penalty, Charles was dropped down to modest P14 on the grid. On the other hand, Bottas was promoted to P4 and Red Bull's Albon to P5. Toro Rosso's Gasly in the sister team's car took the honor of being "the best of the rest".
Verstappen hasn't always succeeded at taking a good start this season, but at Interlagos he managed to keep both his nerves and his car under control. He accelerated into the lead, whilst Sebastian lost a position to storming Hamilton. Teammate Bottas held on to his fourth place, and was followed by Red Bull's Albon. Charles' start to the race was impressive, as in only two laps he had made his way up to P11.
Charles continued making his way up one position at a time. On lap 20 the young Monegasque was already 6th, chasing the scalp of Albon. Meanwhile, the first pit stops took place. Hamilton opened the pit stop roulette, opting for another set of soft tyres. Red Bull reacted by calling Verstappen in from the lead. Max, too headed out for his second stint on the soft compound. However, Williams released Kubica unsafely right ahead of Verstappen, which cost the Dutchman valuable extra seconds. Hamilton thanked and took the lead. But Verstappen was determined, that this turn wasn't an obstacle for his victory; it just slowed him down a little. Verstappen made an outstanding move in Turn 1, depriving the Briton of the race lead!
There haven't been many races this season, where tyre strategies would have been as versatile as in the Brazil GP. Sebastian pitted for a fresh set of yellow-walled medium compound, whilst Bottas opted for a fresh set of hard Pirellis. Charles, who had started to the race on the medium tyre wear, pitted for the hard compound as well. Theoretically, all these three drivers could have aimed for a one-stop strategy.
However, a one-stopper proved no option for any driver of the three big teams. After the second pit stops Verstappen was still leading the race, with Hamilton at his tail. Sebastian was third, hunted by his teammate and Mercedes' Bottas. In terms of reliability, Mercedes have proved bullet-proof this season. In Brazil the world champion team showed signs of vulnerability, as Bottas was hit with an engine issue on lap 52. His smoking Silver Arrow stopped on track, and safety car was deployed. This opened up a chance for an interesting strategic game. Verstappen drove into the pits, and switched back to the soft compound. On the other hand, Hamilton stayed out, taking the lead.
The re-start started a series of action-packed events. As safety car came in, Verstappen attacked into the outside of Hamilton, passing the six-time world champion already for the second time in the race! Also Red Bull's Albon was putting pressure on Hamilton, who was suffering from his decision not to pit under the safety car. Sebastian had unfortunately lost a position to Albon at the re-start.
Lap 66 absolutely took my breath away. Charles had forced his way past Sebastian, which Sebastian was very unhappy about. The German accelerated into the outside of his teammate, but the overtaking move led into contact between the teammates! Charles' SF90 got a suspension failure, and Sebastian had a rear-left puncture. Sebastian's adventurous move swept both red-suited drivers out of the race! What a devastating worst case scenario for the Red Team!
Safety car was deployed for the second time. Hamilton used this opportunity and pitted for the second time. The order of the top five was certainly interesting. Verstappen was leading the race, with teammate Albon second and the sister team's Gasly third! Red Bull were on their way to an epic 1-2! Hamilton was fourth, followed by McLaren's Sainz, who had been able to make a one-stopper work.
After the re-start there were two boiling hot laps to come. Hamilton immediately swept past Gasly, taking the second place. The reigning world champion was impatient to get past Albon, too. Hamilton's hunger proved costly; an overtaking move led into contact between the two. Albon spun, and Gasly stormed into P2. Hamilton had severe damage to his front wing, but he continued putting pressure on Gasly until the very end.
Verstappen crossed the finish line as the celebrated race winner. Amazingly, Gasly managed to hold on to his second place, which was the very first podium finish for the Frenchman! Hamilton drove to the chequered flag in P3, but after the race he was given a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision with Albon. This promoted McLaren's Sainz on the podium for the very first time as well! Kimi finished fourth and Giovinazzi fifth for Alfa Romeo Racing, and Hamilton was dropped down to P7 due to the penalty. What a cracker of a race this was in terms of results!
There have been a lot of rumors in terms of the tense relationship between the red-suited drivers. The events of the Brazil GP certainly didn't help to end these rumors! Brazil GP saw the worst case scenario to come true. The Red Team have a lot of laundry to do before the season finale in Abu Dhabi. But always... We win together, we lose together. Forza Ferrari!
With passion for racing red,
Iina Huhmarniemi
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