F1 Racing - UK (2020-01)

RESULTS ROUND 20

INTERLAGOS / 17.11.19 / 71 LAPS

F1 RACING JANUARY 2020 107

TYRECOMPOUNDS USED

DRIVERS’ STANDINGS

1 Hamilton 387pts

2 Bottas 314pts

3 Verstappen 260pts

4 Leclerc 249pts

5 Vettel 230pts

6 Gasly 95pts

7 Sain z 95pts

8 Albo n 84pts

9 Ricciardo 54pts

10 Pérez 46pts

11 Norris 45pts

12 Räikkönen 43pts

13 Hülkenberg 37pts

14 Kvyat 35pts

15 Stroll 21pts

16 Magnussen 20pts

17 Giovinazzi 14pts

17 Grosjean 8pts

19 Kubica 1pt

20 Russell 0pts

CLIMATE AIR TEMP TRACK TEMP

1st MaxVerstappenRed Bull 1h 33m 14.678s

2nd Pierre GaslyToro Rosso +6.077s

3rd Carlos SainzMcLaren +8.896s

4th Kimi RäikkönenAlfa Romeo +9.452s

5th Antonio GiovinazziAlfa Romeo +10.201s

6th Daniel RicciardoRenault +10.541s

7th Lewis HamiltonMercedes +11.139s*

8th Lando NorrisMcLaren +11.204s

9th SergioPérezRacingPoint +11.529s

10th DaniilKvyatToro Rosso +11.931s

11th Kevin MagnussenHaas +12.732s

12th George RussellWilliams +13.599s

13th Romain GrosjeanHaas +14.247s

14th Alexander AlbonRed Bull +14.927s

15th Nico HülkenbergRenault +18.059s**

16th RobertKubicaWilliams +1 lap

17th SebastianVettelFerrari +6 laps/collision

18th CharlesLeclercFerrari +6 laps/collision

19th LanceStrollRacingPoint +6 laps/damage

Retirements

Valtteri BottasMercedes 51 laps - engine

Hard(C1) Medium(C2)Soft(C3) Inter Wet

Sunny

22 °C 54 °C

Ferrari’s alphas

cometo blows

Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainzboth claimed
unlikely maiden F1 podiumsthanks to the chaos
that unfolded inthe closing stages ofthe r ace.
Gasly has earned wide praisefor returningto
form since being demotedfrom Red Bull backto
Toro Rosso mid-season, and he did brilliantlyto
qualify at the front of themidfi eld whileteam-mate
DaniilKvyat fell in Q1.
After Bottas retiredand Vettel took outLeclerc,
Gasly was on courseto fi nish fourth once Hamilton
had repassedhim at thefi nal Safe ty Car restart,
but thatbecame second when Hamiltonlunged
into a disappearing gap on Albon’s inside on the
penultimate lap. It looked as though Albon unwisely

Unlikely podiumsfor

3 two brilliant midfielders

2

Fastest lap

Valtteri Bottas: 1min 10.698s on lap 43

Ferrari’s potent straightlinespeed returned
sporadically in Brazil – relatedto aerodynamic
adjustments not FIA enginetechnical directives,
said team boss MattiaBinotto –but t he Scuderia’s
race imploded spectacularly thanksto a needless
clash between its two drivers.
After losing second on thefi rst lap, attempts
to extend Vettel’sfi rst stint in the hope of coming
back atVerstappen andHamilton didn’t work out,
so Seb became embroiled in abattle withteam-
mateLeclerc andRed Bull’s Alex Albonfor third.
Albon got the jump onVettel at thefi rst Safety
Car restartto demote theFerrari to fo urth, while
Leclerc was coming up quickly from behindhaving
recovered well from a 10-place grid penaltyfor
fi tting a fresh engine ahead of this race.

Having tried but failedto repass Albon,

Vettel became a targetfor Leclerc, who lunged

opportunistically on the brakes into the Senna

S withsix laps to go. Vettel tried immediately

to repass using DRS on thefollowing straight,

but inexplicably moved left whilealongside. The

resulting contact brokeLeclerc’s front suspension

and Vettel’s rearwheel, putting both cars out.

Binotto is learning the challenge of managing two

‘alpha’ drivers who both wishto assert authority

within theteam. Alevelof freedom isafforded

now Ferrari has sealedsecondin t he constructors’

championship, but Binotto must neverthelessbang

headstogether –for the third time since Monza...

Post-raceLeclerc was sanguine, knowing he was

in theright. Having blamed Charlesin t he heat of

the moment then immediately apologisedto the

team, you got the senseVettel knew the blame

was his. Once again, it calls into questionVettel’s

precise spatial awareness inthe heat of battle.

Can itget any worsefor Ferrari?Leclerc’scar

is returned after a late-race clash withVettel

Sainz (below) and Gasly (below, right) both

claimed their first F1 podiums in Brazil

*includes 5-sec penalty

for causing a collision ** includes 5-sec penalty

for

overtaking under Safety Car conditions

left the door ajar entering the slow right-hander, but

Hamilton still graciouslytook full responsibilityfor

wiping out theRed Bull.Lewis almost out-dragged

Gaslyon the runto the fi nish lineto reclaim second,

but fell fractionally short.

A subsequentfi ve-second penalty demoted

Hamiltonto seventh and promoted Sainzto third.

Sainzhad come all the way from the back ofthe

grid, having failed to set a time in qualifying and

changed hisRenault enginefollowing a wiring fault.

After a strong start– passing seven cars in the

fi rst eight laps – thekey for Sainz wasextending

his fi rst stintto lap 29,fi tting medium tyres then

remaining on trackthrough the Safety Car periods.

Further passes onteam-mate Lando Norris and

Romain Grosjean’s Haas gained Sainz crucial track

position, which he brilliantly clungto after thefi nal

restart, despite desperately fading tyres.