Sao Paulo, Brazil - Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Brazil Grand Prix on Saturday as teammate and world champion Lewis Hamilton endured a controversial day off the Interlagos track and a storming drive on it.
Bottas claimed pole for Sunday's showpiece by winning the 24-lap sprint race.
ALSO READ: Fresh blow for Lewis Hamilton after Brazil Grand Prix disqualification
World championship leader Max Verstappen will start the grand prix beside the Finn on the front row in his Red Bull.
It was Hamilton, however, who ended the day as the chief headline maker.
The seven-time world champion, who trails Verstappen by 19 points in the title race with four events left, was relegated to the back of the grid for Saturday' sprint.
Your polesitter for Sunday's race in Sao Paulo 👌@ValtteriBottas defended hard for 24 laps to win the Sprint!#BrazilGP 🇧![CDATA[]]>🇷 #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/fFCi2iK2JB
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 13, 2021
ALSO READ: Stewards summon F1 leader Max Verstappen for alleged code breach
That was due to his disqualification from Friday qualifying, where he had been the fastest man on the track, after his car was judged to have breached technical rules.
He then shrugged off that setback by storming through the field from last place to finish fifth in the sprint.
However, he will still start Sunday's race in 10th place having already been given a five-place grid penalty for an engine change on his Mercedes.
RELATED VIDEO
AFP