Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday after Mercedes team mate and newly-crowned four-time World champion Lewis Hamilton crashed without setting a lap time.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel will join the Finn on the front row of the starting grid with his Finnish teammate Kimi Raikkonen third and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.
Hamilton, who clinched his fourth world championship in Mexico two weeks ago, had been hoping for a 12th pole of the season but spun into the barrier at turn seven in the opening session.
It looked a simple mistake by Britain’s most successful racing driver of all time, and last year’s winner from pole at Interlagos. Hamilton will now have to fight back through the field for the second race in a row.
“I’m okay. It happened really quickly. I tend to just look at it as challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them makes life meaningful,” Hamilton told Sky Sports.
“I just need to take whatever bubble of negativity comes from that experience and move forwards and try and grow from it.
“It’s very unusual from me but it shows we are all human and things happen.”
The 32-year-old Briton, who clinched his fourth World Championship in Mexico two weeks ago, dominated the practice session on Friday and showed no signs of easing off — or any reaction to the controversy about his alleged tax avoidance.
Starting grid (provisional): Row 1: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari). Row 2: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Max Verstappen (Red Bull). Row 3: Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Sergio Perez (Force India). Row 4: Fernando Alonso (McLaren), Nico Hulkenberg (Renault). Row 5: Carlos Sainz Jr. (Renault), Felipe Massa (Williams). Row 6: Esteban Ocon (Force India), Romain Grosjean (Haas). Row 7: Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren), Kevin Magnussen (Haas). Row 8: Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso), Pascal Wehrlein (Sauber). Row 9: Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso), Lance Stroll (Williams). Row 10: Marcus Ericsson (Sauber), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).