Lewis Hamilton fended off a resilient Max Verstappen and won the second “Speed King” award of his F1 career at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The Dutchman just couldn’t keep up with Hamilton’s lap times and had to be content with P2 and get stuck between the two Mercedes drivers.
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This is how qualifying for the Sao Paulo GP went
Q3- Hamilton vs. Verstappen for F1 pole
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It was until the final qualifying showdown. Hamilton drove an amazing lap time of 1: 08: 107. The decisive factor is that Verstappen managed to sneak his Red Bull into P2, which the team at the Mercedes pace had urgently needed since the beginning of qualifying.
Formula 1 F1 – Brazilian Grand Prix – Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil – November 12, 2021 Red Bulls Max Verstappen in action during the REUTERS / Ricardo Moraes qualifying
But Verstappen still had the task of securing his P2 from Bottas until the last Q3 run. And that’s what he did in the end. Neither Verstappen nor Bottas were able to improve their lap times.
Hamilton, meanwhile, improvised on his previous best performance in order to achieve a dominant performance in Interlagos and in the end to be 0.4 seconds faster than the fastest Red Bull driver.
Q2- Tsunoda’s brief appearance in Q3 ends
Hamilton was still flying in Q2 and even drove an incredible lap time to take P1. However, the Briton did not stick to the track limits at the exit of Turn 4, as the commissioners had to scrape off his lap time. Then Verstappen took the lead with a 1: 08: 567.
But how long would the Dutchman stay in the lead? Not long, as Hamilton was able to go 0.1 seconds faster on his second lap on the same set of tires. Even so, the top 3 looked pretty safe compared to the rest of the grid. As a result, only 12 cars returned to the track for the last Q2 run.
Formula 1 F1 – Brazilian Grand Prix – Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil – November 12, 2021 Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes in action during the REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli qualifying
In the end, Ocon missed Q3, although he was briefly in the top 10, and will start the sprint from P11. Behind the French came Vettel, Tsunoda, Raikkonen and Giovinazzi. Tsunoda failed to qualify for Q3 for the first time in 4 races.
Q1- Aston Martin F1 heartbreak
Verstappen temporarily led the tables with a 1: 09: 329, while his team-mate Sergio Perez finished 0.2 seconds; Norris split up the two Red Bull drivers to place his McLaren in P2. But then Hamilton arrived with an insane lap of 1: 08: 824 and placed his Mercedes on P1 and over 0.5s before the second-placed Verstappen.
Formula 1 F1 – Brazilian Grand Prix – Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil – November 12, 2021 Red Bulls Max Verstappen in qualifying REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
The decisive factor was that the route also developed with every passing minute. So pretty much every single driver decided to leave his lap times a little too late. Unfortunately, Stroll was pretty beaten as the Aston Martin driver failed to qualify for Q2.
His compatriot Latifi, Russell, Schumacher and Mazepin also did not make it into Q2.
The best moments from F1 qualifying
Late comeback of the Alfa Romeo F1 drivers in Q1
The clock was ticking and it almost looked like none of the Alfa Romeo drivers would make it into Q2. But then there were terrifyingly fast laps by Raikkonen and Giovinazzi.
The latter, who has a rather bittersweet relationship with his team, managed to increase his Alfa Romeo to 7th place. Meanwhile, Raikkonen, who was soon to retire, almost missed the Q1 exit when he secured P15.
Russell eventually loses to Latifi
When it comes to qualifying, Russell is definitely the man of choice. In addition, the Briton received the “Mr.Saturday” badge for his ecstatic qualification drives with a significantly inferior Williams car in hand. However, every streak has to end at some point, and so does Russells in Interlagos.
Russell was overqualified for the first time by his teammate Latifi. The Canadian starts the sprint from P17, while the future Mercedes driver starts on P18.
Hamilton’s comeback despite the cancellation of the round
At the start of Q2, Hamilton set a breathtaking lap time and finished in first place well ahead of the rest of the grid. At Turn 4, however, the British did not manage to keep his car within the lane boundaries. But did that stop Hamilton from taking the lead on the second attempt?
Well not at all. The Briton drove another lap on the used soft tires and still managed to beat Verstappen by 0.1 seconds, which proved Mercedes’ frenzied pace on the Interlagos circuit.
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Hamilton secures the F1 Speed King Award
One might wonder why this particular event ended up as one of the “best moments”. Well, if you noticed FP1, Mercedes was hardly a threat to Red Bull, with Verstappen visibly dominating the rest of the grid.
But then came qualifying, where the tables turned so dramatically. It was Hamilton at the top, and not just by a narrow margin. The Briton actually secured the Speed King Award after showing a dominant performance against Verstappen in Q1, Q2 and Q3 overall.
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All in all, an ecstatic qualifying comes to an end on a “Friday afternoon”. And we have even more action in store for the third and final sprint qualifying of the 2021 season on Saturday evening. So who will take the decisive pole position at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix?
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The post Hamilton defies all odds as Russell’s F1 Streak Broken: The best moments from qualifying at the Brazilian GP first appeared on monter-une-startup.
