Brazilian GP final practice and qualifying

By: Geoff Creighton

Summary


	Hamilton seals pole, but has clash with Sirotkin in Q2
	Vettel under investigation for weighbridge scale incident
	Out in Q2: Magnussen, Perez, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Sirotkin
	Out in Q1: Sainz, Hartley, Alonso, Stroll, Vandoorne
	Rain worsening at Interlagos
	Vettel quickest ahead of Hamilton in FP3
	Promoted: F1 fans now have a voice! Create content easily and be part of the newest fan community. Download the Motorsport Fans app for Android or iOS today

Status: Stopped

16:51 Driver, Team
Hamilton, Mercedes
Vettel, Ferrari
Bottas, Mercedes
Raikkonen, Ferrari
Verstappen, Red Bull
Ricciardo, Red Bull
Ericsson, Sauber
Leclerc, Sauber
Grosjean, Haas
Gasly, Toro Rosso

21:18 That's the end of the session, but with Hamilton's risky swerve towards Sirotkin and Vettel's breaking the weighing scales, it appears the result could still change.

Here's a report of the action from the session, and keep an eye on our website for the breaking news from Brazil. We'll rejoin you tomorrow for what promises to be an epic race.

Lewis Hamilton beats Sebastian Vettel in Brazil F1 qualifying

Lewis Hamilton claimed his 10th pole position of the 2018 Formula 1 season in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix, while nearest challenger Sebastian Vettel faces a stewards investigation

21:16

21:14

21:10

21:10 "I had a tiny lock-up in Turn 8," explains Vettel.

"It was a little bit too much so we lost some time and didn't improve.

When asked about being called to the stewards regarding a weighbridge infringement, he added: "I think it's better if I don't say anything.

"They shouldn't call us like that, when the conditions are like that it's not fair. I wanted them to hurry up!"

21:09 Hamilton is up on a camera tower overlooking the main straight and comes down for an interview.

"That was a tough qualifying session, the weather was going up and down," he said. "Ferrari are very quick this weekend and we did a lot of work with my engineers to make sure we were ready.

"It's great to be here in Brazil. I have Senna's design on my helmet this weekend."

On Ferrari and his chances tomorrow, he added: "They had more blistering on the supersoft than us. I'm not sure if this is correct but we wanted to be on the soft."

21:05 It's the usual hugging and handshaking for Hamilton while Vettel takes a while to escape his Ferrari.

"Ahh, lost it," Vettel said after the lap was complete and pole had slipped away.

21:03

21:03 Regardless of pole, Hamilton is asking why he had a tyre vibration.

21:02 It's a 10th pole of the season for Hamilton, and Mercedes' 100th in Formula 1.

"Get in there mate, awesome job, that's the pole," Hamilton is told over the radio.

21:02 Q3 result: 1 Hamilton, 2 Vettel, 3 Bottas, 4 Raikkonen, 5 Verstappen, 6 Ricciardo, 7 Ericsson, 8 Leclerc, 9 Grosjean, 10 Gasly.

21:01 Ericsson is the only other driver to improve, cementing a Class B pole ahead of Sauber team-mate Leclerc.

21:01 Raikkonen and Vettel both fail to improve!

21:00 Hamilton improves to a 1m07.281s.

21:00 The chequered flag is out...

21:00 Bottas can't quite improve, he's still third at the moment.

21:00 Vettel is fastest through the first sector...

21:00 It looks like a four-way fight for pole then - let's see how Mercedes v Ferrari plays out on these final, crucial laps.

20:59 "I'm too close to these guys," says Hamilton. Could that hamper a chance at defending his provisional pole?

20:59 All drivers on track now on the supersoft Pirellis. No reports of rain as of yet.

20:58 Ericsson, Leclerc and Grosjean are the first group back out on track with two minutes to go.

20:57

Q3: Here how things stand with 5 mins to go <a href='https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BrazilGP&src=hash'>#BrazilGP</a> 🇧🇷 <a href='https://twitter.com/search?q=%23F1&src=hash'>#F1</a> <a href=

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrqNztPXcAEpV8q.jpg"/>

Q3: Here how things stand with 5 mins to go #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrqNztPXcAEpV8q.jpg

20:56

20:56 Four minutes left on the clock, and all the cars are in the garage waiting for the second runs.

20:55 "That's a good balance, let's try and get that again," says Hamilton after going quickest.

20:55 Q3 order after the first runs: 1 Hamilton, 2 Vettel, 3 Bottas, 4 Raikkonen, 5 Verstappen, 6 Ricciardo, 7 Ericsson, 8 Leclerc, 9 Grosjean, 10 Gasly.

20:54 Vettel ran wide at the exit of Turn 4 during his rapid lap, just keeping the car inside the white line albeit on the curb.

20:54 The Red Bulls are back in their own class - shall we call it 'A-1'? - sat in fifth and sixth, both on 1m07.7s. Verstappen is ahead of Ricciardo.

20:53 Hamilton beats Vettel with a 1m07.301s, while Bottas has outpaced Raikkonen to lead the second row of the grid.