Brazilian F1 Grand Prix 2017 Results: Sebastian Vettel Wins Race at Interlagos

Sebastian Vettel won the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos on Sunday, while world champion Lewis Hamilton recovered from starting in the pit lane to claim fourth place.

The Ferrari driver snatched the lead from the start, passing Valtteri Bottas, who had started on pole, and leading into the pitstops.

Hamilton carved through the field and briefly took the lead as Vettel and Bottas pitted before stopping for supersoft tyres, allowing the Ferrari to regain the lead and drive to victory.

The official Formula 1 Twitter account provided the final standings at the end of the race:

Vettel was the big winner at the start, passing Bottas, while behind there was further drama that ensured the safety car was sent out.

Daniel Ricciardo spun off but managed to force his way back on to the track, before a collision between Esteban Ocon and Romain Grosjean saw the former forced out with a puncture.

Hamilton, who crashed in qualifying, also had a good start, managing to force his way up to 14th in the early stages, per commentator Jonathan Legard:

The state of play at the end of the safety car period was shown by Formula 1:

Hamilton continued to make his way through the field quickly and was closing in on the points positions by Lap 8, as shown by journalist James Allen:

Max Verstappen was struggling to get past Kimi Raikkonen in third, even though he felt he was quicker, per Sky Sports F1:

Grosjean was then given a 10-second time penalty for ending Ocon's race, while Hamilton by this point was up into fifth place, 17 seconds behind race leader Vettel.

Bottas was the first of the leaders to pit, with Ferrari responding immediately and bringing in Vettel. He just managed to come out in front of the Mercedes, and Sky Sports F1 showed just how close it was:

That left Hamilton as race leader at the halfway stage, with Vettel and Bottas behind and Raikkonen and Verstappen in fourth and fifth.

The world champion eventually pitted on lap 44 for supersofts, with Riccardo also coming in, and resumed in fifth with a podium position definitely in sight.

Hamilton came out and started to reel in the leaders, setting up an exciting finish as he passed Verstappen for fourth and aimed for Raikkonen.

F1 on NBC Sports showed just how close things were at the front:

However, the Englishman seemed to lose ground a little in the final laps and could not find a way past the Finn, being forced to settle for fourth place.

Elsewhere, there was plenty for the home fans to cheer with local favourite Felipe Massa, who will retire at the end of the season, finishing in seventh place on his final Brazilian Grand Prix.