Lewis Hamilton reignites title fight after battling through all the adversity thrown at him at the Brazilian GP. He secured the win despite being knocked back constantly. He strutted to the finish line after getting the final overtake done.
Where do we even start with Lewis Hamilton this weekend?
He somehow managed to win the Brazilian Grand Prix, despite an aggregate grid drop of 25 places. That’s over a full grid!
Hamilton dominated the qualifying session on Friday, cruising to a commanding pole for sprint qualifying. He then found out, after damage to the rear wing, that it no longer met requirements and therefore led to a disqualification.
On Saturday’s sprint Hamilton was able to slice his way through the field. It culminated in him salvaging P5 from P20, performing and executing 15 overtakes in just 24 laps. Unfortunately, he still had a five-place-grid penalty for a new Internal Combustion Engine (ICE).
After starting P10 in the race, he made up four places on lap one, just like the previous day in the sprint. After a long battle with strategy, we witnessed everything we wanted. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel again, two great drivers giving it 100%. After a hairy moment on lap 48, where Verstappen almost took Hamilton out, the Brit got the move done on lap 59.
It was third time lucky for Hamilton, who had looked at taking P1 a couple of times already. The victory means he now trails Verstappen by just 14 points, it would have been 13 had Perez not stolen fastest lap on the final lap.
Mercedes felt hard done by all weekend, Toto Wolff and his team came out swinging with their backs to the wall, to somehow overcome such adversity. The Mercedes Team Principal was aggrieved with what he felt were double standards from the FIA.
Max Verstappen Tried… ‘Everything’
The Dutchman certainly did everything in his power to deny Hamilton his 101st win in Formula One. On lap 48 he pushed Hamilton wide and sent him way off track. The common opinion was that Verstappen purposefully didn’t turn in with the corner to make it happen.
Commentators and pundits felt that he was fortunate to avoid any action. So it was strange that the stewards deemed it not necessary to investigate. If they don’t get on top of things like this, it could have a detrimental impact eventually.
Lewis Hamilton was informed of the decision not to investigate the incident, to which he replied ‘of course not’ – which indicated exactly how he felt and thought!
When Hamilton finally got the move done, Verstappen was shown the black and white flag for weaving. He desperately tried to break Hamilton’s slipstream, but he just couldn’t keep him at bay.
Despite those hairy moments, it was a ridiculously good drive from Verstappen. To hold Hamilton off for as long as he did, given the pace deficit and to keep Bottas behind, shows why he’s right up there with the seven-time World Champion in current ability!
Driver Reaction
Lewis Hamilton hails support: “I’m so grateful for the incredible support I’ve had this weekend. I haven’t had as much support as this since Silverstone. What a race. The team did a great job, Valtteri did a great job. With the penalties, it’s the hardest race weekend I’ve had.”
Max Verstappen is thankful for his title lead: “We tried everything today and gave it our all. It was a lot of fun but in the end we just lacked a bit of pace. We still have a decent lead so today was about damage limitation. I’m confident we’ll come back stronger in the next races.”
Valtteri Bottas frustrated with only P3: “I’m disappointed with the start and the first lap – I tried, but afterwards the pace was quite ok. I’m glad that we could get more points than Red Bull.”
Lewis Hamilton Sets More Records
For the first time in the history of Interlagos, the race winner came from below P8. Hamilton’s win from P10 is the furthest back anyone has managed at the historic circuit. Regardless of the adversity, Hamilton always seems to find a way in Brazil, just look back to 2008 when he clinched his maiden World Crown in dramatic fashion!
Donning the Ayrton Senna inspired helmet, Hamilton certainly channelled his hero over the weekend. The aggressive nature of his driving over Saturday and Sunday would have made Senna proud had he still been here.
To start P20 and P10 twice over a race weekend, avoiding any contact in the melee of turn one twice, keeping it clean showed the focus and determination Hamilton had this weekend.
Final Classification:
CLASSIFICATION: BRAZIL
Confirmation of a famous win for @LewisHamilton, after an incredible performance all weekend in Sao Paulo 🏆#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/fw86fo2wRD
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 14, 2021
Lewis Hamilton reignites title fight after a truly remarkable victory at the Brazilian GP. Who wins the title from here?
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
