Ferrari dominates podium at Interlagos
THE MOTORSPORT LAP/ Sebastian Vettel ended a long victory drought for Ferrari in the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Kimi Raikkonen claiming third position.
The penultimate race of the 2017 Formula One season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, which took place at the Interlagos circuit at the weekend, was quite the spectacle for Ferrari, which managed to claim two podium finishes.
Sebastian Vettel ended a rather long victory drought by clinching first at the South American race following a good qualifying session on Saturday, where he managed to place his car second on the grid.
OUTQUALIFIED
He was outqualified by Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-AMG) who started on pole, while Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) started and finished the race in third spot. Bottas finished in second.
The 2017 champion, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG), crashed in qualifying, which meant he had to start the race from the pits. He managed to claw his way from the back to finish fourth overall. The race finale will take place in Abu Dhabi on November 26 to conclude what has been a scintillating F1 season.
It was also the Valencia, Spain, leg of the MotoGP season where Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) proved the man to beat. He was followed to the chequered flag by Johan Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in second, while Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), who clinched the championship at the circuit, rounded off the podium.
In the Moto2 category Miguel Oliviera (Red Bull KTM Ajo) won his class ahead of Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex) and South African Brad Binder.
In Moto3, Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3 Honda) finished victorious ahead of Joan Mir (Leopard Racing Honda) and Marcos Ramirez (Platinum bay Real Estate). The last leg of the FIA WRX (World Rallycross) championship took place at the Killarney Racetrack in Cape Town. Johan Kristoffersson (PSRX Volkswagen Team Sweden) won the inaugural South African event finishing ahead of his compatriots Timmy Hansen (Peugeot) and Mattias Ekström (Audi). This was the seventh win of the season for world champion Kristoffersson.
NEW RECORD
The Swede has finished on the podium at 11 of 2017’s 12 rounds, signalling a new record.
“This season was simply fantastic,” said Kristoffersson. “I can hardly believe what we have achieved. I have to thank Petter Solberg and the entire team. Together, we have been strong throughout the whole season.
“I hoped from the start that we could be successful. But to have actually achieved that is absolutely fantastic.”
While Kristoffersson and PSRX Volkswagen Team Sweden had already wrapped up the titles in mid-September, Solberg was still battling for second place in the world championship in Cape Town. A puncture on Saturday cost him valuable positions and points in qualifying, and the Norwegian had to settle for fourth place behind his closest rival, Mattias Ekström (Audi), in the final.
This meant Solberg ended the season in third place in the Drivers’ Championship.
“I really gave it my all, but it was impossible to get past Ekström,” Solberg said. That is okay, though. We have won enough gold medals [in 2017]!”