Hamilton on pole at Interlagos, Vettel under investigation

The Briton from Mercedes signs the 82nd pole position of his career but he could receive a penalty for blocking the Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen and especially the Williams of Sergey Sirotkin during Q2.

Published on 10/11/2018 à 19:17

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Hamilton on pole at Interlagos, Vettel under investigation

At the end of an electric and disjointed session because of climatic uncertainty above the Jose Carlos Pace autodrome, the five-time world champion snatched the 10th pole position of the season, less than a tenth ahead of the Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel.

The German nevertheless finds himself under investigation for not having turned off his engine when climbing onto the weighing platform located at the start of the pit lane during Q2. Impatient to get back on the track because of the rain, the German then left under his own power, destroying the car scale in the process. Vettel was summoned by the Interlagos stewards.

For the moment, the second line is 100% Finnish with Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) ahead of Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari). THE Red Bull de Max Verstappen et Daniel Ricciardo lock the 3rd line almost half a second from the referenceHamilton.

Impressive performance from Sauber and in particular from Marcus Ericsson, who precedes Charles Leclerc for the gain of 7th place. The French Romain Grosjean (Haas) and Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) complete the Top 10.

Their compatriot Esteban Ocon (Force India) had to stop in Q2, just like his teammate Sergio Pérez as well as Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg (Renault), and Sirotkin.

Carlos Sainz is the surprise elimination from Q1, the Spaniard missing the boat by 0,005s compared to Ocon. The future pilot McLaren is accompanied in the cart by the current members of Woking, Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian has still not beaten his teammate in qualifying this season. Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso) and Lance stroll (Williams) also leave the stage prematurely.

Threatening since the start of the weekend, the rain arrived in Q1. If the intensity of the showers was never strong enough to justify the switch to Intermediate or Maxi-Rain tires, it clearly played tricks on the teams' strategy. This is evidenced by Vettel’s impatience during the weigh-in. A gesture of humor that could cost the Scuderia dearly as it fights to extend the Manufacturers' fight with Mercedes until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In any case, this promises an intriguing Brazilian Grand Prix. Lights out Sunday at 15:10 p.m. Interlagos time (18:10 p.m. in France). You will be able to follow the penultimate round of the 2018 world championship with live commentary on CARhebdo.fr.