Hamilton and Vettel whet appetite for 2018 but guns spell danger for Brazil GP
Hamilton delivers notice of intent
After making his only major error of the season with a crash in qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton said he wanted to redeem himself in the race. Finishing in fourth place after starting from the pit lane was better than he expected. It was a performance acknowledged by the Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, who said: “It was the best fourth place I’ve ever seen. If you consider starting from the pit lane and ending up 5.4 seconds behind the leader, it’s quite an astonishing drive.” In doing so, Hamilton performed pass after pass. Many were perfunctory given his car’s advantage, but his reactions in dealing with Sergio Pérez’s spirited defence into turn one were indicative of a driver at the top of his game. He had wanted to end the season strongly with two wins, a goal that was beyond him after qualifying. That he chose to still hurl himself at the race, attempting to chase down third place right to the flag shows how hungry he is – a far cry from when he lost focus after taking the title in 2015. With his eye now on next season and the race win beyond him, the charge to fourth was the best statement of intent he could make.
Ferrari take heart
Sebastian Vettel drove a consummate race to take a much-deserved win and Ferrari will be pleased with finally returning to the top step for the first time since round 11 in Hungary. The title was gone but the Scuderia were eager for a strong finish to the season. They finally delivered and showed they could have taken this to the wire but for the races in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan that cost them dear. Vettel admitted it was a “great relief ” and the team principal, Maurizio Arrivabene, believed it was validation of their development. “On Sunday, we got the confirmation that we have a very good car at our disposal,” he said. Reasons to be optimistic for 2018 then but with caution. The new Mercedes engine used by Hamilton and turned up to No11, was ominously strong. Hamilton was a second a lap quicker at some points and Vettel admitted that while his car was strong through the corners it was still losing on the straights at Interlagos. The Mercedes did, however, reveal again that it does not enjoy following cars – Hamilton’s charge overworking its tyres. Ferrari have proved they have the chassis to beat, now they need an engine to match.
Bottas too tentative
Having taken pole with a fine lap, Valtteri Bottas was optimistic that he could turn his lacklustre second half of the season around in Brazil. He failed to do so. Vettel beat him off the line to take the lead through turn one – and with the pace of the cars so similar it was enough to virtually decide the race. The Finn said he had wheelspin at the start but Vettel too did not have the perfect getaway. With his nose in front the German opted to go up the inside. But his move was not complete – with Bottas being on the outside he could have held his line and attempted to fight it out, taking the inside of turn two of the Senna S. However he chose to concede and move in behind Vettel. A decision unlikely from Hamilton, Max Verstappen or Daniel Ricciardo for example. It was hugely costly. During the race his lap times were within three to four hundredths of a second of Vettel throughout but the place had gone. He has admitted that opening-lap decisiveness has been a weakness and it is one he must address, as Niki Lauda noted drily, Bottas “deserved his second place”.
Warning signs for 2018
The season is not yet over but already concerns for what the racing might promise next year are rightly being aired. There was passing aplenty at Interlagos but in cars of widely different pace. Where they were closely matched, the ascendancy of aero influence in the new regulations was proving again that passing where there is no high speed differential will be difficult. Verstappen noted while chasing Kimi Raikkonen that: “I am faster but I am stuck being behind.” It is not the first time a driver has expressed such frustration, a problem that may be compounded when F1 moves to using only three engines in 2018. “I don’t like the idea of going to three. That sucks,” said Hamilton. “Sprinting is what we are missing in F1.” He was concerned too that the cars becoming heavier with the addition of Halo would make for a poor combination. “The car is going to be a bus next year, it is going to be so heavy, like a Nascar,” he added. “I know it sounds negative but as a racer we want fast, nimble cars where we can attack always every single lap. If you look at the front guys, they were managing and that is what we are normally doing. I don’t think that is too exciting for people to watch. I’m not sure cutting down engines is helping it in that direction.”
Interlagos under threat
There is no doubt the Autódromo José Carlos Pace is a marvellous circuit and drivers enjoy the challenge but this year there was considerable unease at the danger presented by racing in São Paulo. There were five incidents over the weekend involving gunpoint robbery. Mercedes mechanics in a minibus had valuables stolen by armed thieves on Friday. And FIA officials and Williams staff also suffered attempted robberies the same evening. On Saturday Sauber crew were the victims and on Sunday Pirelli staff. The FIA had worked with the local authorities promising “heavy police reinforcements” but that the incidents continued throughout the weekend was not a good indication that it had any effect. There was general agreement of wanting to continue racing at Interlagos but danger signs for the circuit as well, particularly now McLaren have cancelled a scheduled test this week. With the owners the Formula One Group looking at a variety of new venues, a spokesman warned of questions over whether they should host races in cities “with difficulties like that”. The São Paulo mayor, João Doria, said: “I’ve seen worse cases at other race tracks”, although it is hard to imagine quite where he means.