A generationUnder the greatest pressure of his career, Lewis Hamilton became an escape artist: dismissing two dramatic relocations, the Formula One world champion won the São Paulo Grand Prix with a crazy overtaking performance-and participated World Cup duel Max Verstappen It reopened after the event held in Brazil before the last three games of the season.
Mercedes star Hamilton occupies a total of 24 positions in Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s game, and with his 101st Grand Prix victory, he narrowed the gap with Red Bull star Verstappen to 14 titles integral.Third place Valtery Bottas In the second Mercedes.
Previously, no driver who started outside the top eight on the Interlagos circuit had won the championship.gentlemen Lewis Hamilton Following 2016 and 2018, his third victory at Interlagos set another record for his great career. But especially the way it is done is breathtaking: everything seems to be finally ready for Verstappen to make an initial decision in the championship battle.
Former world champion Sebastian Vettel Heppenheim missed 11th place in goal points at Aston Martin. Due to a slight collision with Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo), Haas driver Mick Schumacher also crossed the finish line in 18th and last place. The two penalties against Hamilton over the weekend overlapped: First, the seven-time champion was relegated to five positions in the race because he replaced the internal combustion engine on the start.
With the new momentum, he rushed to the first place in Friday’s sprint qualifying, but then the administrator found that the adjustable tail was connected to Hamilton. Mercedes It drove too far-it was relocated to the starting position of the sprint 20, from where Hamilton occupied 15 positions in just 24 laps.
The boss of Mercedes Motorsport ranted that the case “should not be related to the butler” Totowolf On Saturday night. “We have no illegal sideways, we just got hurt,” the Austrian said. Nevertheless, Wolfe said before the start: “Lewis can still win the game.” For this reason, the support of Bottas from the second Mercedes could have been useful, but the pole setter was playing Verstappen lost in the starting matchup. Sergio Perez of the second Red Bull also quickly surpassed the Finn, who had to leave Mercedes five years after the end of the season.
Hamilton moved up from 10th to the grid at an impressive speed. At the end of the first lap he had given way to Vettel and tied for sixth. At the beginning of the fifth lap Hamilton passed Bottas and only Red Bull In front of him.Thanks to the obvious speed advantage on the straights, Hamilton passed on the 18th lap of 71 laps. Perez, But the Mexicans immediately fought back. After a while, Verstappen’s noble helper had nothing to offset.
On the other hand, the Dutchman was able to maintain a stable distance from Hamilton for a few seconds. Mercedes took its star driver into the pit to change tires after lap 27, and Verstappen followed suit one lap later-and lost to his competitor, who was suddenly caught in his neck for two seconds Bell. After 41 laps, Verstappen changed the tyre again, Hamilton came in later, and then announced his terrible “hammer time”. As usual, Verstappen stood in the grey area of the rules, and Hamilton then passed twelve laps before the end of the game.
