Bottas takes Brazil pole as Hamilton crashes out

After clinching his fourth title in the last race, Hamilton had been hoping for a 12th pole of the season but spun into the barrier at turn seven and so was unable to set a time. He'll start at the back of the grid.

Though the error will mean little to the British driver with the title in the bag, it comes after a dificult week where the Paradise Papers revealed his advisers had helped him avoid paying millions of euros in tax on his private jet before members of his Mercedes team were held up at gunpoint on Friday.

"It happened really quickly," he said of the crash. "It is what it is. Overcoming challenges is what makes life meaningful."

There were no such issues for Bottas, who set an Interlagos track record of 1 minute 8.322 seconds to edge out Ferrari's Vettel by just 0.038 seconds. Bottas' fellow Finn Kimi Raikonnen will start in third, while the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo will be in fourth and fifth respectively.

"It feels good," said Bottas after claiming the advantage. " It was so close with Seb all through qualifying. It's a shame Lewis went out but I'm happy I could do a good job for the team. Avoiding mistakes will be crucial tomorrow as well as a good start. I'm really looking forward to it"

mp (AP/Reuters)