In the standings, the Dutchman Max Verstappen has 332.5 points; 318.5 accumulates the British Lewis Hamilton; and 203, the Finn Valtteri Bottas.
After starring in a memorable comeback, the Brit Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) won this Sunday the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil and cut distance to the leader of the championship, the Dutch Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who was second.
Although it started in the tenth position, after a five-seat penalty that crowned a weekend of torment, the reigning champion climbed positions to overtake Verstappen on lap 59 of 71, who led the competition from the start.
Eleven laps before passing him, Hamilton began to warm up the Brazilian public, surrendered to his talent, with an attack on his main rival that ended with both briefly outside the circuit.
The Finnish Valtteri Bottas completed the podium and a 1-3 for Mercedes, now eleven points clear of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, which the silver dates have won steadily since 2014.
“What career! The team did a great job, Valtteri did a great job. With the sanctions, this is the most difficult race weekend I have ever had, “he said. Hamilton cheered by thousands of Brazilians who attended the São Paulo track.
There is a fight!
With his sixth win of the season, the seven times world champion reduced from 21 to 14 points the distance that the Dutchman leads him in the drivers’ standings.
In the absence of three Grands Prix for the end of the season –Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates-, Verstappen has 332.5 points against Hamilton’s 318.5. Bottas is third with 203.
The first place in the Interlagos circuit, in Sao Paulo, home of the legendary Ayrton Senna, fuels Hamilton for the final stretch of an electrifying season.
In addition to preventing Verstappen from achieving his third consecutive win, after successes in United States and MexicoThe 36-year-old Briton gave a show of resilience on a weekend of torment for him.
Although he dominated practice and qualifying on Friday, his times were declassified due to an irregularity in the movable rear wing (DRS) of his car, which forced to start in the last position of the race Saturday sprint.
Even so, rallied fifteen positions and was fifth in the third and final mini-race of the season. Due to the penalty, this Sunday he came out in the tenth box due to a five-seat penalty imposed for having exceeded the engine change quota for the season.
Despite everything, from the start he showed the speed that accompanied Mercedes’ men (Bottas conquered the pole) in Brazil and kept the fight for the world title alive.
“Decent advantage”
Behind the podium the Mexican entered Sergio perez (Red Bull), the Monegasque Charles Leclerc and spanish Carlos Sainz (both from Ferrari), the French Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Estéban Ocon and his partner, the Iberian Fernando Alonso (Alpine-Renault), and the British Lando Norris (McLaren).
“We tried everything today and we gave it our all. It was a lot of fun, but in the end we lacked a bit of rhythm. We still have a decent lead, so today we tried to limit the damage. I am sure that we will come back stronger in the next races, ”said Verstappen.
The 24-year-old Dutch runner he controlled as far as he could the superiority of Hamilton, whose dream of triumph seemed to disappear when his lieutenant lost the first position at the start.
Verstappen rolled calmly until his adversary began to appear in his mirrors, supported by the Brazilians who attended Interlagos, in the first major mass event in Brazil since the arrival of the pandemic.
The Briton returned their affection by carrying a Brazilian flag at the top of the podium, leave the fight for his eighth title open and star in a valid one for history. (D)
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