2018 Brazilian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton won a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix after a collision between Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon transformed the race. Mercedes also secured its fifth consecutive constructors’ championship at Interlagos, completing another remarkable title double.

Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:07.281
Fastest lap
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:10.540 on lap 65
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
9 November 2018	Practice 1	11:00 – 12:30
9 November 2018	Practice 2	15:00 – 16:30
10 November 2018	Practice 3	12:00 – 13:00
10 November 2018	Qualifying	15:00 – 16:00
11 November 2018	Race	15:10

All times are local (UTC-02:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

With Lewis Hamilton already crowned drivers’ champion, the constructors’ contest became the principal title question at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. Ferrari needed a major swing in its favour to keep Mercedes waiting beyond the penultimate round of the 2018 F1 World Championship.

Race entries

The established 20-driver line-up returned. Antonio Giovinazzi replaced Marcus Ericsson for FP1 at Sauber, Lando Norris drove Fernando Alonso‘s McLaren, and Nicholas Latifi took Sergio Perez‘s Racing Point Force India.

Free Practice

Max Verstappen led a closely matched FP1 with a 1:09.011. Sebastian Vettel was only 0.049 seconds slower and Lewis Hamilton 0.096 seconds behind the Red Bull Racing.

Valtteri Bottas put Mercedes on top in FP2 with a 1:08.846. Lewis Hamilton was just three thousandths away in second, with Sebastian Vettel third.

Sebastian Vettel responded in FP3, setting a 1:07.948 to lead Lewis Hamilton by 0.217 seconds. Valtteri Bottas finished third as the teams prepared for a potentially weather-affected qualifying session.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2018 Brazilian Grand Prix FP1, 9 November 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:09.011	16
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.049s	20
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.096s	28
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.384s	23
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.562s	28
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.668s	23
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+0.911s	28
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.225s	15
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+1.335s	28
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+1.350s	34
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.651s	34
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.668s	34
13	36	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	+1.674s	29
14	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+1.788s	30
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.923s	30
16	47	Lando Norris	McLaren	+2.002s	28
17	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.026s	30
18	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.165s	32
19	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.441s	23
20	34	Nicholas Latifi	Racing Point Force India	+2.482s	34

Free Practice 2 Classification

2018 Brazilian Grand Prix FP2, 9 November 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:08.846	48
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.003s	43
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.073s	42
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.318s	44
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.493s	28
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.566s	42
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+0.923s	44
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+1.097s	44
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.161s	39
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+1.313s	45
11	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+1.474s	23
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.484s	44
13	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.486s	36
14	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.612s	48
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.686s	44
16	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+1.723s	46
17	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+1.750s	26
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+1.816s	44
19	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+1.888s	46
20	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.828s	6

Free Practice 3 Classification

2018 Brazilian Grand Prix FP3, 10 November 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:07.948	17
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.217s	15
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.517s	23
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.542s	17
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.785s	12
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.840s	12
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.198s	14
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.309s	16
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.454s	22
10	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+1.500s	21
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.513s	19
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+1.640s	18
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.860s	23
14	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.916s	17
15	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+1.937s	14
16	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.037s	18
17	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.053s	17
18	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.072s	15
19	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+2.168s	18
20	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.341s	16

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton took pole with a 1:07.281, beating Sebastian Vettel by 0.093 seconds. Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen occupied the second row, ahead of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.

Daniel Ricciardo‘s grid penalty dropped him down the order, while Marcus Ericsson celebrated a career-best seventh in qualifying. Charles Leclerc joined him among the leading midfield runners after an excellent final Q2 lap, giving Sauber a particularly promising starting position.

Qualifying Classification

2018 Brazilian Grand Prix Qualifying, 10 November 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:08.464	1:07.795	1:07.281	17
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:08.452	1:07.776	1:07.374	17
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:08.492	1:07.727	1:07.441	17
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:08.452	1:08.028	1:07.456	17
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:08.205	1:08.017	1:07.778	16
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:08.544	1:08.055	1:07.780	16
7	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:08.754	1:08.579	1:08.296	19
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:08.667	1:08.335	1:08.492	23
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:08.735	1:08.239	1:08.517	17
10	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:09.046	1:08.616	1:09.029	24
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:08.474	1:08.659	—	12
12	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	1:09.217	1:08.741	—	15
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	1:09.264	1:08.770	—	18
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:09.009	1:08.834	—	15
15	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:09.259	1:10.381	—	11
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:09.269	—	—	9
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:09.280	—	—	10
18	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:09.402	—	—	9
19	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:09.441	—	—	9
20	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:09.601	—	—	9

Daniel Ricciardo received a five-place grid penalty for a change in turbochargers.

Esteban Ocon received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

What happened in the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton retained the lead at the start, with Valtteri Bottas moving ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Max Verstappen soon emerged as the quickest challenger, passing both Ferrari drivers and then Bottas to reach second.

Red Bull Racing extended Max Verstappen‘s first stint while Lewis Hamilton stopped earlier. After changing to fresh soft tyres, Verstappen closed rapidly and passed Hamilton on lap 40 to take the lead on merit.

Four laps later, the race turned on an extraordinary incident. Esteban Ocon attempted to unlap himself as Max Verstappen negotiated the opening corners, and the pair collided at Turn 2. Both spun, allowing Lewis Hamilton back into the lead.

Max Verstappen continued with floor damage and chased Lewis Hamilton to the flag, finishing only 1.469 seconds behind. Esteban Ocon received a ten-second stop-go penalty for the collision, but the lost victory could not be recovered.

Kimi Räikkönen held off Daniel Ricciardo for third, while Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel finished fifth and sixth. The result confirmed Mercedes as constructors’ champion for the fifth successive season.

Charles Leclerc delivered seventh for Sauber ahead of Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez. Marcus Ericsson‘s promising weekend ended in retirement, as did Nico Hülkenberg‘s race. Hamilton’s tenth victory of the year came with a large helping of fortune, but Mercedes‘ championship success reflected another formidable campaign.

2018 Brazilian Grand Prix race results

The 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix was held on 11 November 2018, with a scheduled start of 15:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	71	1:27:09.066	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	71	+1.469s	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	71	+4.764s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	71	+5.193s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	71	+22.943s	10
6	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	71	+26.997s	8
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	71	+44.199s	6
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	71	+51.230s	4
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	71	+52.857s	2
10	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	70	+1 lap	1
11	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	70	+1 lap	0
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	70	+1 lap	0
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	70	+1 lap	0
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	70	+1 lap	0
15	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	70	+1 lap	0
16	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	69	+2 laps	0
17	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	69	+2 laps	0
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	69	+2 laps	0
Ret	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	32	Overheating	0
Ret	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	20	Collision damage	0

Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso each received a five-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags.

2018 Brazilian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	65	16:33:47	1:10.540	219.909
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	71	16:40:59	1:10.831	219.005
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	62	16:29:49	1:11.343	217.434
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	61	16:28:33	1:11.578	216.720
5	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	68	16:39:54	1:11.751	216.197
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	64	16:32:11	1:11.769	216.143
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	70	16:39:20	1:11.795	216.065
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	70	16:40:03	1:12.082	215.204
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	50	16:16:48	1:12.169	214.945
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	67	16:36:33	1:12.206	214.835
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	70	16:41:38	1:12.352	214.401
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	71	16:41:23	1:12.362	214.372
13	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	58	16:25:57	1:12.472	214.046
14	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	57	16:25:58	1:12.643	213.542
15	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	53	16:20:25	1:12.949	212.647
16	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	68	16:39:11	1:12.968	212.591
17	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	55	16:22:46	1:13.822	210.132
18	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	30	15:51:17	1:14.029	209.544
19	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	52	16:19:23	1:14.262	208.887
20	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	3	15:17:18	1:15.281	206.059

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h. No championship point was awarded for fastest lap in 2018.

2018 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix.

2018 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	383
2	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	302
3	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Ferrari	251
4	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	237
5	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	234
6	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Red Bull Racing	158
7	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	69
8	Sergio Perez	MEX	Force India / Racing Point Force India	58
9	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	55
10	Fernando Alonso	ESP	McLaren	50
11	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Force India / Racing Point Force India	49
12	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Renault	45
13	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	35
14	Charles Leclerc	MON	Sauber	33
15	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Toro Rosso	29
16	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	McLaren	12
17	Marcus Ericsson	SWE	Sauber	9
18	Lance Stroll	CAN	Williams	6
19	Brendon Hartley	NZL	Toro Rosso	4
20	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Williams	1

2018 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	620
2	Ferrari	553
3	Red Bull Racing	392
4	Renault	114
5	Haas	90
6	McLaren	62
7	Racing Point Force India	48
8	Sauber	42
9	Toro Rosso	33
10	Williams	7
EX	Force India	0

The original Force India entry was excluded from the championship before the Belgian Grand Prix and its 59 constructors’ points were forfeited. Racing Point Force India entered as a new constructor from Belgium; the drivers retained their points.

2018 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2018 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	25 March
2	2018 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	8 April
3	2018 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	29 April
5	2018 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2018 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2018 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2018 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	24 June
9	2018 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	1 July
10	2018 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
11	2018 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
12	2018 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
13	2018 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	26 August
14	2018 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	2 September
15	2018 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	16 September
16	2018 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 September
17	2018 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
18	2018 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	21 October
19	2018 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	28 October
20	2018 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	11 November
21	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	25 November