Bottas beats out Verstappen as Hamilton surges through field

A lightning start from Valtteri Bottas earned him victory in the third and final Formula 1 Sprint of 2021 at the Brazilian Grand Prix as his teammate Lewis Hamilton recovered from the back of the grid to finish fifth with an epic drive.

Mercedes gambled by putting the soft tyres on Bottas' car and the extra grip at the start meant he managed to pass pole-sitter Max Verstappen off the line and he held off the Dutchman until the very end.

Verstappen was also passed by Carlos Sainz who also had an electric start on Lap 1 but he soon dispatched of the Ferrari which fell almost 20 seconds off the leading duo finishing third.

Hamilton started at the back after he was disqualified from qualifying via a DRS infringement, but he soon made up for it with a scintillating display of overtaking, ending in a late lunge past Lando Norris for fifth place.

The seven-time champion will start tenth in the Brazilian GP though with a five-place penalty for fitting a new engine into his Mercedes car.

Perez disappointment

Sergio Perez will be a disappointed soul after he spent the entire race staring at the rear of Sainz's Ferrari without managing to make an impact on the Spaniard who scored his first F1 podium at this circuit two years ago.

Norris came home sixth after making his own impressive move on Charles Leclerc into turn four; the Monegasque finished seventh a full nine seconds clear of Pierre Gasly who struggled all race long despite a stunning qualifying on Friday.

Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel are the other two beneficiaries of Hamilton's grid penalty while Kimi Raikkonen spun to the rear early on after contact with teammate Antonio Giovinazzi.

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