Grand Prix Rejects

Welcome to the 2017 Grande Prêmio Heineken do Brasil, the 19th round of the Predicament Predictions championship!

The final good track of the year, the Interlagos circuit is renowned for being one of the good guys, and "the one that should close the championship if we can't get Suzuka". With the Formula 1 championship sewn up, the predicaments championship is anything but! Get your predictions in before the end of FP3 on Saturday.

1. Valtteri Bottas
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Max Verstappen
4. Sebastian Vettel
5. Kimi Räikkönen
6. Daniel Ricciardo
7. Felipe Massa
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Kevin Magnussen
10. Brendon Hartley

Pole Position: Valtteri Bottas
Fastest Lap: Valtteri Bottas
First retirement: Pierre Gasly
Reject of the Race (ROTR): Pierre Gasly (causes a crash or something embarrassing, and the world's press descend on him)
Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race (IIDOTR): Fernando Alonso (nearly has his race ruined and recovers to take 8th)
Deadbeat Teammate of the Race (DBTMOTR): Pierre Gasly
Minor League Premiership (MLP): Brendon Hartley
Did not Start (DNS): Nico Hulkenberg

An extra point will, as usual, be handed out to the competitor with the funniest alternative race title. Use double points whenever you like if you haven't already. The candidates for MLP this weekend are: Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Stoffel Vandoorne, Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley.

Felipe Massa Memorial Grand Prix Memorial Grand Prix

1/ Max Verstappen
2/ Lewis Hamilton
3/ Sebastian Vettel
4/ Daniel Ricciardo
5/ Valtteri Bottas
6/ Kimi Raikkonen
7/ Esteban Ocon
8/ Carlos Sainz
9/ Sergio Perez
10/ Nico Hulkenberg

Pole - Lewis Hamilton
FLap - Fernando Alonso
Retirement - Romain Grosjean
ROTR - Haas
DBTMOTR - Kimi Raikkonen
MLP - Esteban Ocon
DNS - None

massa joke
1. Hamilton
2. Vettel
3. Bottas
4. Räikkönen
5. Verstappen
6. Ricciardo
7. Ocon
8. Pérez
9. Sainz
10. Massa

Pole: Hamilton
FL: Vettel
First ret: Vandoorne
ROTR: Ericsson
IIDOTR: Hartley
DBTMOTR: Stroll
MLP: Ocon
DNS: none

The 2017 Grassy, Slippery Bit in the Middle with Two Smooth Run-off Areas to Either Side Grand Prix

1/ Max Verstappen
2/ Valtteri Bottas (let past by Hamilton to take points off Vettel in the WDC)
3/ Lewis Hamilton
4/ Daniel Ricciardo
5/ Sebastian Vettel (let past by Raikkonen to take points off Bottas in the WDC)
6/ Kimi Raikkonen
7/ Esteban Ocon
8/ Fernando Alonso
9/ Sergio Perez
10/ Pascal Wehrlein

Pole - Lewis Hamilton
Fastest Lap - Max Verstappen
First Retirement - Marcus Ericsson
Last Retirement - Felipe Massa
ROTR - Renault again
DBTMOTR - Massa (finishes the race for once)
MLP - Esteban Ocon
DNS - None

I can't believe Brazil still have money left to host the Brazilian Grand Prix considering the country is broke after the World Cup and the Olympics


1. Hamilton
2. Vettel
3. Verstappen
4. Räikkönen
5. Bottas
6. Ricciardo
7. Pérez
8. Ocon
9. Sainz
10. Vandoorne

Pole: Hamilton
FL: Räikkönen
First ret: Alonso
ROTR: Hülkenberg
IIDOTR: Hartley
DBTMOTR: Gasly
MLP: Ocon
DNS: nope

The 2017 "I Can't Think Of Anything Witty About Felipe Massa" Grand Prix

1. Hamilton
2. Verstappen
3. Bottas
4. Ricciardo
5. Ocon
6. Stroll
7. Grosjean
8. Barrichello
9. Sainz
10. Hulkenberg

Pole - Hamilton
Fastest lap - Verstappen
First retirement - Ericsson
Last retirement - Vettel
ROTR - Massa
IIDOTR - Barrichello
DBTMOTR - Magnussen
MLP - Ocon
DNS - Raul Boesel

The 2017 Nuts to Brazil Grande Premio

1. Hamilton
2. Verstappen
3. Vettel
4. Ricciardo
5. Bottas
6. Raikkonen
7. Sainz
8. Perez
9. Ocon
10. Hulkenberg

Pole - Hamilton
Fastest lap - Vettel
First retirement - Ericsson
ROTR - Ericsson
IIDOTR - Ricciardo
DBTMOTR - Ericsson
MLP - Ocon
DNS - --

Well, at least they haven't demolished Interlagos and turned it into a shopping centre yet.

1. Hamilton
2. Bottas
3. Verstappen
4. Vettel
5. Räikkönen
6. Daniel Ricciardo
7. Ocon
8. Hulkenberg
9. Massa
10. Alonso

Pole Position: Hamilton
Fastest Lap: Verstappen
First retirement: Gasly
Reject of the Race (ROTR): Renault engines (although not as extreme as Mexico, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a few drivers with problems)
Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race (IIDOTR): Ricciardo
Deadbeat Teammate of the Race (DBTMOTR): Stroll
Minor League Premiership (MLP): Ocon
Did not Start (DNS): None

And I might as well finally invoke the double points multiplier (better here than Abu Dhabi I guess).

2017 Honorary Season Finale

1. Hamilton
2. Vettel
3. Bottas
4. Ricciardo
5. Verstappen
6. Pérez
7. Sainz
8. Hülkenberg
9. Ocon
10. Vandoorne

Pole Position: Hamilton
Fastest Lap: Bottas
First retirement: Räikkönen
Reject of the Race (ROTR): Räikkönen (first corner accident of his own doing)
Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race (IIDOTR): Vandoorne (by default)
Deadbeat Teammate of the Race (DBTMOTR): Räikkönen
Minor League Premiership (MLP): Ocon
Did not Start (DNS): None

2017 "19th Escalation of Crowd Quality, According to Hamilton" Grand Prix

1) Hamilton
2) Bottas
3) Vettel
4) Verstappen
5) Raikkonen
6) Ricciardo
7) Ocon
8) Massa
9) Alonso
10) Sainz

Pole: Hamilton
Fastest Lap: Vettel
First Retirement: Hartley
ROTR: Toro Rosso
IIDOTR: Ocon
DBTMOTR: Stroll
MLP: Ocon
DNS: None

2017 "Whatever you do, don't mention tax bills" Brazilian GP
1. HAM
2. VER
3. BOT
4. RAI
5. VET
6. PER
7. SAI
8. HUL
9. OCO
10. GRO

Pole: Hamilton
F. Lap: Hamilton
1st Retirement: Gasly (engine, again)
RoTR: Vettel, or maybe that new Ayrton Senna musical
IIDoTR: Grosjean
DBToTR: Magnussen (crashes)
MLP: OCO
DNS: None

2017 Enforcer Insulates Himself from the British Motorsport Media Grand Prix.

1. Hamilton
2. Vettel
3. Bottas
4. Verstappen
5. Raikkonen
6. Ricciardo
7. Sainz
8. Hülkenberg
9. Ocon
10. Perez

Pole Position: Hamilton
Fastest Lap: Vettel
First retirement: Stroll
Reject of the Race (ROTR): Williams
Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race (IIDOTR): Hartley
Deadbeat Teammate of the Race (DBTMOTR): Raikkonen
Minor League Premiership (MLP): Ocon
Did not Start (DNS): None

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Sebastian Vettel
3. Valtteri Bottas
4. Max Verstappen
5. Kimi Räikkönen
6. Daniel Ricciardo
7. Nico Hülkenberg
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Carlos Sainz Jr.
10. Sergio Pérez

Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton
Fastest Lap: Max Verstappen
First retirement: Kevin Magnussen
Reject of the Race (ROTR): Pierre Gasly
Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race (IIDOTR): Nico Hülkenberg
Deadbeat Teammate of the Race (DBTMOTR): Stoffel Vandoorne
Minor League Premiership (MLP): Lance Stroll
Did not Start (DNS): Does none earn you points? If so, I'm going with it but if not, Brendon Hartley

2017 "I remember not only when this was the season closer, but also when it was the season opener!" Grand Prix de Brasil

1. Hamilton
2. Bottas
3. Raikkonen
4. Ricciardo
5. Vettel
6. Massa
7. Sainz
8. Ocon
9. Perez
10. Alonso

Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton
Fastest Lap: Valtteri Bottas
First retirement: Nick Hulkenberg
Reject of the Race (ROTR): the weather
Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race (IIDOTR): Felipe Massa
Deadbeat Teammate of the Race (DBTMOTR): Pierre Gasly
Minor League Premiership (MLP): Esteban Ocon
Did not Start (DNS): N/A

2017 Brasil gp "samba do Janeiro"

1. Hamilton
2. Verstappen
3. Raikkonen
4. Vettel
5. Ricciardo
6. Bottas
7. Hulkenberg
8. Ocon
9. Massa
10. Alonso

Pole Position: Hamilton
Fastest Lap: Hamilton
First retirement: Gasly
Reject of the Race: Toro Rosso
Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race (IIDOTR): Alonso
Deadbeat Teammate of the Race (DBTMOTR): Pierre Gasly
Minor League Premiership (MLP): Esteban Ocon
Did not Start (DNS): -

The Brazilian Grand Prix is over, and it means important things for the championship!

1. mario 26*
2. dr-baker 17
3. CarloSpace 15
4. Rob Dylan 13
- IceG 13
6. RAK 12**
7. Aguvazk 11
8. Aislabie 10
- Ugncreativeusergname 10
10. yannicksamlad 9
- Enforcer 9
12. AdrianBelmonte_ 8
- tommykl 8
14. takagi_for_the_win 7
- This Could Be You 7
*used double points
**earned point for best alternative race title

Our race winner is mario for the third time this year! Having held back his use of double points all season, they have unleashed a late-season push to get themselves clear of just about all their rivals. As a result of it, current championship runner-up tommykl remains the only driver who can take that top spot away from mario, and with a 33-point gap opened up between them, it will take a miracle for the gap to be closed in Abu Dhabi. Looking at the standings:

1. Mario 311
2. Tommykl 278
----
3. Ugncreativeusergname 268
4. dr-baker 267
5. Enforcer 254
6. RAK 252
7. CarloSpace 248
8. This Could Be You 238
9. Aislabie 232
10. Aguvazk 203
11. Rob Dylan 195
12. CoopsII 180
13. AdrianBelmonte_ 157
14. Yannicksamlad 136
15. Dj_bereta 130
16. Normal32 110
17. Ataxia 109
18. peteroli34 106
19. pi314159 93
20. Watka 91
21. Dexter249 61
22. takagi_for_the_win 44
23. Simtek 39
24. pasta_maldonado 39
25. RedEyes504 39
26. Miguel98 35
27. TheFlyingCaterham 34
28. Bleu 29
29. mash 28
30. FullMetalJack 27
31. IceG 24
32. Reject_Dom 21
33. The Chicane 17
34. andrew 16
35. golic_2004 13
36. Dartanian 12
37. DemocalypseNow 11
38. dinizintheoven 10
39. Gonzalez 6

One of the top scorers over the last few rounds, dr-baker has been slowly but surely closing the gap to ugncreativeusergname in 3rd place. Remember that prizes are only dished out for the top three come the end of the season, so whilst mario is guaranteed at least something, his direct competitors need to look behind as well as ahead, to make sure they are not caught at the last moment.

Until the next race, our season finale in Abu Dhabi!