Sunday’s storyline is Lewis Hamilton’s incredible performance, going from last to first (penalties levied), to get the win in Sao Paulo.
SAO PAULO, Brazil—It took two virtual safety car periods, one regular safety car event, and a 25 grid drop. That seems impossible for Lewis Hamilton to overcome, but overcome he did. He passed rival Max Verstappen on lap 59 to win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sunday by just over 10 seconds. Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, who won the sprint race the previous day, was third.
Even with the victory, Hamilton trials Verstappen by 14 points in the world Driver’s Championship. Mercedes leads Red Bull Racing by two points in the Constructor’s battle. Three races remain on the circuit in 2021– in Qatar (next weekend), Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi.
“I am so grateful for the incredible support this weekend,” said Hamilton. “What a race! The team did an amazing job, and Valtteri did a great job getting as many points as possible. I just pushed as fast as I could, but this is the hardest weekend I have had [this season]. My dad reminded me of when I was in F3 in Bahrain when I started last and finished first – so this is for my dad. I never thought we would close the gap like we did today. Just never give up and never stop fighting. It feels like a first as I haven’t had a win for a long time.”
“We tried everything we could today, it was a good battle, but in the end, we missed a little pace” was Verstappen’s take. “We still have a decent lead, so today was a bit of damage limitation. I’m confident, in the coming races, we will come back stronger.”
Sergio Perez finished his Red Bull in fourth and picked up one point for the fastest lap of the race on softs, while the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. took the fifth sixth, respectively. Pierre Gasly was seventh in the second Alpha Tauri, while Alpine achieved double points, with Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon finishing eighth and ninth. Lando Norris took the last point with tenth in his McLaren.
Hamilton caught up to Verstappen toward the end of the race, following two series of pit stops. There were two periods of caution on the track, both occurring because of debris on the circuit when Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda struck Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll on the opening lap. The collision shredded the Japanese rookie’s front wing. A few laps later, Mick Schumacher lost his Haas front wing when he struck Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, throwing more debris onto the circuit.
On lap 47, Hamilton was in striking distance of his Dutch rival, and, at turn four, Hamilton attempted a pass. Verstappen veered towards him in a defensive move, which was investigated by the race marshals. However, the decision was against the Mercedes driver, and Verstappen kept his lead. But Hamilton was determined to continue the fight and kept his tires strong enough to pass Verstappen on lap 59 and Verstappen could never rechallenge him from that point.
As for retirements, Stroll had to retire from the race with damage from his first lap accident with Tsunoda. Daniel Ricciardo retired two laps later with a power unit failure.
Teams now travel to Qatar for the Qatar Grand Prix, which will be run next weekend. ESPN2 will televise Free Practices 1 and 2 on Friday beginning at 5:30a Eastern time.
