It is well known that the Formula 1 championship of 2021 is one of the most beautiful in recent years, but today those who have had the privilege of being able to follow the Brazilian Grand Prix live or comfortably on the sofa at home have seen a page of history of this sport.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen delivered 71 laps at very high tension. They sniffed, chased each other, touched each other and in the end it was the Mercedes driver who won.
Starting from tenth place, after serving 5 penalty positions for the replacement of the thermal engine, Hamilton quickly got rid of the rivals that preceded him. In the opening bars he gave a show in the duel with Sergio Perez and then, once Bottas gave him the way, he went in pursuit of Max Verstappen.
The strategic choice of Mercedes has made the seven-time world champion angry. Lewis, after making his first pit on hard tires, had asked his team to do the opposite of what Red Bulll would have done with Verstappen.
The Dutchman, after having anticipated the second stop, mounted a new set of hard Pirellis but Mercedes did not listen to his driver and decided to make him come back one lap after Bottas to mount the hard tires again.
Lewis managed to patch another strategic mistake by Brackley’s team. He started to reduce the gap from Verstappen and after trying a first assault on the outside of Curva 4 (which failed due to a questionable maneuver by Max ed) he managed to get the better of the Dutchman with a masterpiece maneuver.
“What a race! The team did a fantastic job and Valtteri did a great job today managing to bring as many points as possible for the team. I pushed to the maximum “. These were Hamilton’s first words at the end of a race where he asked everything from his body and his car.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21, Carlos Sainz Jr, Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Hamilton arrived at the Parc Ferme holding the Brazilian flag and enjoying the well-deserved ovation from the crowd, but admitted he faced one of the most complicated weekends of his life.
On Friday, after obtaining pole, his car was under investigation for an irregularity in the rear wing that forced him to start from the back of the grid in the Sprint Qualifying. After having recovered up to fifth place, Hamilton started today from the tenth position having had to serve 5 penalty positions for engine change.
Today Lewis never gave up and gave the public a real masterpiece and wanted to dedicate this success to his father.
“I think it was the hardest weekend of my career. Yesterday I started from the last place on the grid and today I had to serve another 5 penalty positions. My father reminded me of a race I played in Bahrain in the minor categories when I started last and finished Race 1 in tenth position to win the next day. I dedicate this victory to him “.
Hamilton ultimately wanted to send a clear message to Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has a 14-point advantage, but the Englishman won’t give up until the last race of the season.
“On the eve of this weekend I never thought we would be able to recover so many points as we did today. Things, then, continued to go against us. This shows that you must never give up any adversity you encounter “.
#Hamilton #hardest #weekend #career