Wet conditions and Formula One cars lead to chaos, and that’s exactly how the race at Interlagos began.
Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the grid spent the first six laps following the safety car as they got used to the conditions, figuring out which parts of the track in Brazil were the most wet.
Romain Grosjean had already crashed on the way out to the start, while early in the race Sebastian Vettel had people’s hearts in mouths after spinning on a turn and ending up backwards facing up a hill.
Sebastian Vettel spins in the final corner.
— Sebastian Vettel ☝️ (@FansOfSebVettel) November 13, 2016
via @MrAlexF1#F1 #BrazilGP #Seb5 pic.twitter.com/274oFuwWuw
Think I vomited my heart when Vettel stopped the wrong way on the blind entry to Subida dos Boxes.
— The Disco Spider (@durrellb) November 13, 2016
Facing backwards at the top of a hill 😣 #BrazilGP #SkyF1
— Jamie Fernandes (@JayFerGaming) November 13, 2016
Vettel will need new overalls after that
— Matt Gallagher (@xMattyG) November 13, 2016
Incredibly, the Ferrari driver pitted immediately afterwards to swap his wet tyres for intermediates – something done first by Kevin Kevin Magnussen of Renault on the first lap after the safety car went in.
A few laps later though, he was complaining about how wet it was.
Well, I for one am shocked that Magnussen, the first man on Inters, is saying it might be too dangerous. #F1 #BrazilGP
— #Motorsport101 (@Motorsport_101) November 13, 2016
Marcus Ericsson was the next to suffer in the conditions, crashing in the same place as Grosjean and blocking the pit lane, before Kimi Raikkonen suffered a terrifying crash on the straight, almost leading others to crash into him due to the lack of visibility.
Raikkonen still had on wet tyres, and following his crash Vettel called for an end to the race as the drivers went in for a break while debris was cleared.
RED FLAG: Kimi Raikkonen crashes out on the start-finish straight #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/i4dtGDS3Eq
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 13, 2016
That. was. close #Raikkönen #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/STGv4lGdnB
— Mattzel89 (@Mattzel89) November 13, 2016
RAI was on the X-Wet tyres too...
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 13, 2016
It's clearly a nightmare out there...#F1 #BrazilGP
Thank EVERYTHING no-one was hurt in that... #BrazilGP
— Jenny (@jennyanne_m) November 13, 2016
The conditions are leading to a lot of excitement, and a lot of fear.
Not a frequent watcher of F1 but in this rain it's compelling viewing. Courageous buggers!
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 13, 2016
Love a wet race, all cars are equal and the tacticians earn their money. #BrazilGP
— Phil Evans (@philaEvans) November 13, 2016
#BrazilGP. #F1 boring start but wow this race has had my heart in my mouth withh all the incidents so far.
— Ian Brooks (@Ian_S_Brooks) November 13, 2016
This #BrazilGP is crazy. Great viewing but very very dangerous.
— Adam (@K1LTY11) November 13, 2016
Just stop the race! #BrazilGP #F1
— Joey Thorpe (@joeythorpe96) November 13, 2016
Glad to see all drivers walking away unscathed from the crashes that so far marred this race. Most important thing. #BrazilGP
— Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) November 13, 2016
This is simply unsafe now. #BrazilGP
— Craig Woollard (@Craig_O_F1) November 13, 2016
Very interesting to watch but you can't help think a serious injury is coming. The red flag incident summed it up #BrazilGP
— Warren Brown (@WBMan84) November 13, 2016
F1 has until 6pm local time to complete the 71 laps, so it’s unclear whether the race will be finished.
