106 F1 RACING JANUARY 2020
PICTURES:ANDYHONE;ZAK MAUGER;STEVEN TEE;MARK SUTTONTHE BRAZILIAN GP
FINISHING STRAIGHT F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPROUND^20 IN 3 KEY MOMENTS
RACE DEBRIEF
1 Red Bull on form asVerstappen defeatsHamilton
Red Bull hasfl atteredto deceiveover much of the
second half of 2019. The last time MaxVerstappen
beatLewis Hamilton itwas for thefi nal podium
spot in Singapore,but Red Bullexpectedto fi ght
for vic tory there and wasn’t in contention.
Since hasfollowed more disappointment.
Uncompetitive in Russia,Verstappen was taken out
by CharlesLeclerc in Japan, lost poleto a yellowfl ag
infringement in Mexico, and was beatento second
by Hamilton’s one-stop masterclass inAustin. But in
Brazil Max was peerless,making amendsfor los ing
last year’s race in a needless clashwith backmarker
Esteban Ocon.
Hamilton was narrowly fastest infi nal practice,
but Verstappentopped all three qualifying
segmentsto claim pole, atenth clear of Sebastian
Vettel’sFerrari. Hamilton was third inQ3, less than
two tenths shy of pole, but Mercedes struggled at
high altitude,and admitted setting the front tyre
temperaturestoo lowin t he early partof qualifying.
After Hamilton muscled aroundVettel’s outside
into thefi rst corner, the race became a straight
fi ght betweenVerstappen and Hamilton. Mercedes
Another victoryfor Verstappen,Red Bull and
Honda, and so nearly a first podiumfor Albonsucceeded in vaultingLewis ahead of Max at the
fi rst round of pitstops, asVerstappen was delayed
on his in-lap, then baulkedby Williams releasing
RobertKubica into his path in the pitlane.Verstappen
avoidedKubica, gave chase and retook the lead with
a DRS-assisted pass into the Senna S – emphasising
Red Bull’s aerodynamic efficiency and improved
performance of Honda’s engine above sea level.
Mercedes tried again at the end of lap 43,as Lewis
struggledto keep pace withVerstappen on softs,
complaining also of shifting wind direction. Thistime,
a cleanexit fromhis sub-two-second stop allowed
Max to retain track position. But Hamilton wasmore
competitive on the medium tyre and began closing in.
WhenValtteri Bottas’ enginecried enoughat
the start of lap 49, the needto deploy the Safety
Car while the Mercedes was craned away gave
Verstappen respite. It was here thatRed Bull
strategist Hannah Schmitz helped turn the race
decisively in Max’s favour. Verstappen was calledin
for a third stop, while Hamilton wastold to do the
opposite so stayed out.Red Bull conceded track
position in the hopesuperior grip, alliedto Max’sprodigiousracecraft, would do the rest.
Hamilton argued he was a“sitting duck”and so
it proved. Hamilton did his bestto defend at the
restart with 12 lapsto run, butVerstappen boldly
drove around Hamilton’s outside atthe fi rst corner
to reclaim the lead.Thatwould have been that but
for the twoFerraris colliding withsix laps left.
Hamilton madea late call behind that Safety
Car to stopfor fresher tyres. Mercedestechnical
director JamesAllison, subbingfor the absentToto
Wolff, laterdescribed the decisionto allowLewis
to do this as “dumb” and a “rookie error”.
Verstappen left it as late as possibleon t he
pit straight before nailing his throttle open at the
restart. As Hamilton became embroiled in late-
race drama tryingto repass Alex Albon’sRed Bull,
Verstappen checked outover thefi nal coupleof
laps to put an emphatic sealon victory.
“They just outclassed us interms ofoverall
performance,” saidLewis. “We couldn’tkeep up with
them on the straights. I racedmy heartout. I gave
it everything. I left nothing on the table and Itook a
lot of risks.We threw everythingand the sink at it.”