Lewis Hamilton turned in a drive of the highest quality to catch and pass championship rival Max Verstappen and win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, bringing himself back into the title contention.
Hamilton started the grand prix 10th but was up to fourth by the end of lap four, which soon became third when teammate Valtteri Bottas moved aside to let him by. Once getting past Sergio Perez for second, Hamilton sets his sights on title rival Verstappen and chased him for 14 laps at mid-distance.
After being forced wide by the Dutch driver once while trying to pass at Turn 4, Hamilton finally got the move done with a nicely set-up and executed overtake on the approach to the same corner on lap 59 of 71.
Hamilton’s win knocked seven points off Verstappen’s title lead, including the two the Dutch driver gained during Saturday’s sprint race. With three races left to run, Verstappen now leads by 14 points.
While Mercedes seemed to have a performance advantage this weekend, the win capped off a remarkable weekend for Hamilton. He qualified first on Friday, only to start Saturday’s sprint race from 20th after being disqualified from the session for a technical infringement. He finished that race fifth but dropped back to 10th on the grid due to an engine change made at the start of the weekend, only to win the grand prix on Sunday.
After the race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said to Hamilton over the radio: “That’s how you overcome a 20-place disqualification”.
To that, Hamilton replied: “It was 25, but you’re right!”
[Lewis Hamilton fight from 20th to come fifth in Sao Paulo GP sprint race]
For Verstappen, it was a good damage limitation weekend given the sheer pace of Hamilton and Mercedes. Verstappen sounded happy to have minimised the points swing to Hamilton, but was booed on the podium by the Brazilian fans.
His defence against Hamilton midway through the race was robust, verging on dangerous, as he forced Hamilton wide and into the run off area. Had Hamilton not turned away from the corner, the two would have made contact once more.
Race director Michael Masi noted the incident but the stewards decided it did not warrant an investigation. Verstappen was given a black and white warning flag a few laps later after weaving across the track on the run down to Turn 4 to prevent Hamilton passing.
Valtteri Bottas, who started on pole position, finished third after another disappointing race start which saw him squander two positions in one lap.
Sergio Perez was fourth for Red Bull but crucially grabbed the bonus point on offer for the fastest lap of the race, taking it away from Hamilton.
Ferrari finished a distant fifth and sixth, with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz. Pierre Gasly was seventh ahead of the two Alpine drivers and Lando Norris, who suffered a puncture on the opening lap and had to recover back through the field.
ESPN
