Lewis Hamilton is a man on a mission and he’s not willing to stop until he gets it. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion wants to be one for the eighth time and at the Brazilian Grand Prix he gave a real lesson in driving and determination with which he struck down Max Verstappen, who is cut short in a World Championship with three races still to be contested . Hamilton started tenth but arrived without major complications before his archrival and the second, because in the first Max did not leave him with a maneuver on the verge of legality, he removed the stickers and raised, minutes later, his arms in Sao Paulo.
Carlos Sainz , after a bad start, finished in sixth position despite starting from third place and is left with a bittersweet taste after his extraordinary performance in Saturday’s sprint race. Fernando Alonso finished ninth and sneaks into the points again, the most that can be asked of him given the performance of the Alpine.
The race, and it is customary, was involved in the most absolute emotion, but also in controversy. After the middle of the race, Max Verstappen was the leader but not the highlight that he would like and Lewis Hamilton, focused on his mission to culminate the comeback from the tenth position with a tremendous victory, prepared to overtake the owner of the provisional throne of the World Cup . The Briton pulled DRS and came to overtake the Dutchman’s nose with his nose, but he changed the trajectory and spat, even without touching him, Lewis off the line, in a maneuver that was investigated by the stewards but without sanction.
It is hard to think that in a set in which one pilot pushes another off the track, despite the fact that there was an escape without gravel for both, there would be no penalty when other actions much lighter have been punished or in which, at least the integrity of the pilots is not compromised. However, despite possible complaints during and after the race, the finish delivered some justice with a brutal overtaking of Lewis on lap 60, just over ten from the end, to take the jack to the water.
Bad exit from Sainz
The race had started with the interest doubled by the expected dispute between Hamilton and Verstappen as long as the Briton managed to complete the comeback that began on Saturday, at a 24-lap sprint and paused by the already known five-place penalty for the engine change . Tenth place on the grid for Lewis, first for Max and third for Carlos , who could not repeat the grind of the previous day and was losing steam with a negative start in which he even brushed against Norris .
The departure of the Safety Car gave way to guerrilla warfare with Hamilton already threatening the podium positions and the Red Bulls awaiting the arrival of the seven-time champion. It would not take long for Hamilton to put Checo Pérez aside with an overtaking brand of the house and that only with a car like the Mercedes you can do with the comfort shown by the British in Interlagos . The next and last mission would be Verstappen , but first he had to arrive and then face the colossus.
The World Cup duel
Once in Max’s slipstream and after a titanic effort to keep lap by lap with maximum pace on the track, Hamilton made the aforementioned first attempt in which he was sent off by Verstappen with the doubt of the penalty looming on the horizon. It was investigated and decided without punishment but after a few turns the Englishman would get his prize by pulling quality, determination and DRS and without Verstappen even being able to think of an effective defense strategy to avoid it.
Hamilton had to go for everything and Verstappen, perhaps and despite his hot head, had the obligation to hold a good second place that despite the moral blow keeps him in command of the World Championship and continues to force Hamilton, ‘O Rei ‘of Interlagos , to continue with the machado in the three remaining races in the East to dream of his eighth world championship.
