Lewis Hamilton Wins Brazilian Grand Prix
Seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday, slashing Max Verstappen’s Formula One lead to 14 points in one of the greatest drives of his career.
Verstappen finished second with Valtteri Bottas third for Mercedes after a controversial, roller-coaster weekend in Brazil.
“I don’t remember another weekend like this,” said Hamilton, as his dream of a record eighth title is back on with three races remaining. “It’s quite overwhelming, to be honest.”
“This has been probably one of the best weekends, if not the best weekend, that I have experienced since probably in my whole career,” Hamilton added.
The Briton was fastest in Friday qualifying at Interlagos for Saturday’s sprint that set Sunday’s grid, and then demoted to the back of the field after his car’s rear wing failed a technical inspection. He went from 20th to fifth on Saturday, dropping back to 10th on Sunday’s grid after an engine penalty but hungry for much more.
The rest was history as the 36-year-old took his third win at Interlagos and set a record for victory in Brazil from the lowest grid position, beating Italian Giancarlo Fisichella’s 2003 win from eighth.
Mercedes moved 11 points clear of Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. The win was Hamilton’s sixth of the season and record-extending 101st of his career.
“It was a good battle but at the end we just missed a little bit of pace. We gave it our all today, it was a lot of fun,” said Verstappen.
“We still have a good points lead. Today was a bit of damage limitation on a weekend that was difficult for us. I’m confident that the coming races we will bounce back.”
Two of the remaining three are circuits new to F1, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, before the finale in Abu Dhabi.
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters.
