Formula 1 Brazil GP: Mercedes' Hamilton defies odds to beat Verstappen

Formula 1 Brazil GP: Lewis Hamilton- Mercedes’ reigning champion Lewis Hamilton won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday. He defied all odds after a sensational battle against his rival Max Verstappen in an absolutely surprise turn of events in Brazil for F1. Verstappen finished runner-up ahead of pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton now has a 14-point deficit to Verstappen with the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix up next on November 19-21. Mercedes are 11 points ahead of Red Bull after this unforgettable Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Formula 1 Brazil GP: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton defies odds to beat Max Verstappen from P10

Formula 1 Brazil GP: Max Verstappen gets an edge as Lewis Hamilton set for five-place grid penalty for new Mercedes engine

Hamilton enjoyed a terrific start from P10 on the grid and was clearly on the charge, teammate Bottas – who lost the lead to Verstappen at the start – letting him for P5 by on Lap 5. Hamilton then took P2 off Perez in a duel that began on Lap 17 and culminated in a Lap 19 pass at Turn 4. The first stops took place around Lap 25 but the action built up to a terrific crescendo after Verstappen took a second stop on Lap 41, Hamilton on Lap 44.

The Mercedes driver bore down on Verstappen and despite being shoved wide at Turn 4 – the stewards noting but not investigating – on Lap 48, Hamilton didn’t give up, trying it again on Lap 58 only to meet a stubborn defence. A lap later came the winning pass with DRS on the run-up to Turn 4, this time Verstappen having no choice but to concede. Hamilton ended up 10.4 seconds up the road in first place at the flag, cutting Verstappen’s championship lead from 21 points to 14 points.

Bottas, who took an opportunistic stop during the Lap 30 Virtual Safety Car period and another on Lap 41, finished third ahead of Sergio Perez, who started fourth, was up to second, but lost places to the two Mercedes. The Mexican however took the fastest lap at the expense of Hamilton, on the final tour, having pitted for softs on Lap 70.

POSITION	TIME	POINTS
1 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes	1:32:22.851	25
2 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing	+10.496s	18
3 Valtteri BOTTAS Mercedes	+13.576s	15
4 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing	+39.940s	13
5 Charles LECLERC Ferrari	+49.517s	10

The Ferraris pulled off a two-stop strategy to see Charles Leclerc home in fifth and Carlos Sainz – who lost three places amid contact with Lando Norris (P10) at the start – in sixth. Pierre Gasly picked off the Alpines after pitting twice, his Lap 50 change to hard tyres heling him pass Esteban Ocon (P9) and Fernando Alonso (P8).

Norris picked up a puncture on Lap 1 after Sainz nicked his rear-left tyre, but recovered from there to take the final point, his pitstop during a Lap 7 VSC leaving him on hard compounds right until the finish.

Sebastian Vettel missed out on the final point by a second to Norris ahead, and finished 11th having started P9, his Aston Martin team mate Lance Stroll eventually retiring – as did McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo.

But it was Hamilton who stole the show here in Brazil – recovering from his disqualification from qualifying on Friday and clawing his way back up to P5 from dead last in Saturday’s Sprint, before he took another grid penalty for an engine change on race day. From P10 he put in the drive of his life – and pulled off an impressive move on his title rival Verstappen to seal the victory in front of an ecstatic crowd at Interlagos.

“Firstly, I know, I think I feel what it was like for you here with all the support in 2007 with your amazing country,” said Lewis Hamilton to ex-F1 driver Felipe Massa.

“And yes, I’ve been saying ‘Obrigado, Brasil’ – I’m so, so grateful. What a race, the team did an amazing job, Valtteri did a great job today to get as many points as possible. I was pushing as hard as I could, but from last on the grid and again another five-place penalty, it was I think, the hardest weekend I have had.

“I mean, coming into this weekend, I never, ever thought that we’d be able to close the gap like we have today. And then these things that just kept going against us. But I think it really shows, just for everyone, just never give up whatever you’re facing…

“It feels like the first, because I don’t feel like I’ve had a win for a long time.”

Formula 1 Brazil GP: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton defies odds to beat Max Verstappen from P10

2021 Driver Standings

UPDATED DRIVER STANDINGS:

Three races to go
14 points in it
What a season
What a title race #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/SexlILlbpZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 14, 2021

POS	DRIVER	NATIONALITY	CAR	PTS
1	Max Verstappen	NED	RED BULL RACING HONDA	332.5
2	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	MERCEDES	318.5
3	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	MERCEDES	203
4	Sergio Perez	MEX	RED BULL RACING HONDA	178
5	Lando Norris	GBR	MCLAREN MERCEDES	151
6	Charles Leclerc	MON	FERRARI	148
7	Carlos Sainz	ESP	FERRARI	139.5
8	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	MCLAREN MERCEDES	105
9	Pierre Gasly	FRA	ALPHATAURI HONDA	92
10	Fernando Alonso	ESP	ALPINE RENAULT	62