Sebastian Vettel claimed a fifth win of the 2017 Formula 1 season and first since Hungary in August after the German passed Valtteri Bottas into Turn 1 at the start and never looked back in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver was never more than three seconds ahead of the Finn in the Mercedes but was comfortable throughout the 71 laps as his ability to pull out a small but decent gap at key times was vital in the close fight at Interlagos.
On the run to the Senna ‘S’, it was a matter of greater momentum for Vettel, as Bottas had wheelspin, and that allowed the four-time world champion to slide up the inside and take the lead.
Further back, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa overhauled Sergio Perez through the Curva do Sol to slot in fifth and sixth ahead of the Force India but there would be contact towards the rear as Kevin Magnussen clipped Stoffel Vandoorne at Turn 2, who would hit the rear tyre of Daniel Ricciardo, who started 14th after engine penalties, sending the Red Bull into a spin.
The Australian continued but both the Belgian and the Dane would retire as a Safety Car was called to gather the stricken McLaren. Just as the race was neutralised, Esteban Ocon would see his 27-race finishing streak end after being tagged by Romain Grosjean, as the Frenchman looked to sweep around the Haas at Ferradura.
After his crash in qualifying, Mercedes put a fresh engine in the back of Lewis Hamilton’s car, meaning he started from the pit-lane, but the world champion missed the early incidents and was already 14th when the Safety Car pulled in.
When the race resumed, Massa used the superior Mercedes power in his Williams to pass Alonso into Turn 1 for fifth place as the top four remained stable. Focus then switched to Hamilton and Ricciardo, who switched to the Soft compound tyres under the Safety Car, making their way through the field and soon both would be fifth and sixth, highlighting the huge performance difference between the top three teams and the rest.
Bottas’ closest moment to challenging Vettel came in the pit-stop phase as the Finn would stop a lap earlier in a bid to perform the undercut, the race leader would have just enough in hand to stay ahead on the run to Descida de Lago, however, and then slowly pulled away to another safe two-second margin.
Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen had lonely races in third and fourth but would get company as Hamilton, now on the Supersoft rubber, began to close by over a second per lap to those in front lapping in the 1:11’s.
The pace differential would be too much for the Dutchman, as he held the No. 44 car at bay into Turn 1 but couldn’t on the back straight to Turn 4, resulting in a comfortable pass for Hamilton for fourth.
However, a lock-up as he approached Raikkonen left the world champion on the back foot and, as his tyres wore out, he couldn’t find the traction to make a move on the Ferrari.
With the top four settled, Verstappen would pit in the closing laps such was his frustration for fresh tyres, setting a new race lap record of 1:11.044s in the process as he took fifth with Ricciardo completing all he could in sixth on a disappointing day for Red Bull.
The battle for what became seventh raged between Massa and Alonso throughout the race but, even with DRS, the Honda engine couldn’t produce enough top speed to pass the Williams.
Sergio Perez joined the party late on too, but couldn’t quite pass the Spaniard as the three drivers were separated by just over six-tenths of a second over the finish line.
Nico Hulkenberg scored the final point for Renault in 10th, beating teammate Carlos Sainz and the Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly after a tense weekend between the two teams.
Marcus Ericsson passed Pascal Wehrlein late on in the battle of the Sauber’s in 13th and 14th beating Grosjean, who received a penalty for the incident with Ocon and Lance Stroll suffered a late tyre delamination caused by a flat spot, dropping the Canadian to the last finisher in 16th.
The other retiree joining the Lap 1 crashers was Brendon Hartley as the Kiwi suffered yet another engine problem in the Toro Rosso.
