F1
Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor 6y

Felipe Massa signs off in style, Ferrari returns to the top step

Formula 1

Following Sebastian Vettel's first victory since July's Hungarian Grand Prix, ESPN rounds up the major talking points from a dramatic race at Interlagos.

Shock: While we were treated to a tight battle between Mercedes and Ferrari at Interlagos, the absence of a Red Bull threat was a surprise. The car wasn't awful, but at no point did it look like Max Verstappen would take the fight to the top three, and in trying he forced himself onto a two-stop strategy. Red Bull has come a long way this season, but Sunday's race shows there is still plenty of work to do over the winter to ensure Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo are title contenders next season.

Shocker: Two weeks after a memorable drive to eighth in Mexico, Kevin Magnussen will be keen to forget the Brazilian Grand Prix. His race only lasted one corner before he lost control of his Haas and ploughed into Stoffel Vandoorne's McLaren, who in turn spun Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull. At the time of writing, the incident was still under investigation by the stewards.

Overtake of the race: Daniel Ricciardo could have won this award several times over on Sunday afternoon. His Red Bull may have a power deficit, but his ability to stamp on the brakes into Turn 1 and claim the inside line enabled him to work his way back up to sixth from a first corner spin. Moves on the Mercedes-powered Williamses of Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa at either end of the race stand out as highlights, mainly because he was in a different post code when he lunged for the inside.

Tearjerker: After last year's walk down the pit lane draped in a Brazilian flag, it was hard to imagine a more emotional send off for Felipe Massa on his 'second' retirement. But after his impressive seventh-place finish on Sunday, a radio message from the Williams pit wall may have managed it: "Daddy, I'm proud of you," came the voice of Felipinho Massa over the pit-to-car radio. "And wherever you go I will support you. I love you, and by the way, I loved your start." If that didn't stir the emotions, nothing will.

Turn 1 overtakes: After years of looking for the perfect style of corner to help overtaking, the answer may have been staring F1 in the face every time it arrived at Interlagos. The banked camber and tighter inside line than outside of Turn 1 encourages lunges up the inside, while the switchback at Turn 2 punishes mistakes. It's hard to recreate the downhill gradient at every track, but where possible more Senna Esses should be installed on new race tracks.

Spotlight on the stewards (again): When Romain Grosjean learned he had been given a 10-second penalty for his collision with Esteban Ocon, his response was instant: "You must be kidding me!" In a season where the stewards were supposed to be more lenient, a decision to penalise a driver for an honest mistake during wheel-to-wheel racing on the opening lap of a race seems a bit harsh. Yes, Ocon was taken out of the race, but the move was not deliberate and was caused by a driver losing the rear of his car while on the absolute limit.

Driver of the race: Sebastian Vettel did everything he needed to do to win in Brazil, but Lewis Hamilton's drive from a pit lane start to a near-podium finish wins the award this week. The fact he crossed the line just 5.4s off Vettel at the end of the race underlines the ground he made up on a track where Mercedes and Ferrari were very evenly matched. It also casts Valtteri Bottas performance in a dim light after he failed to challenge Vettel other than immediately after his pit stop.

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