LEWIS REVVED UP FOR TITLE
Hero Senna and new engine help Hamilton set the pace
LEWIS HAMILTON kept alive his hopes of beating Max Verstappen to the drivers’ title by qualifying first for today’s sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Hamilton, below, will be dropped back five places for tomorrow’s main event after Mercedes changed his engine for the fifth time this season.
But with the new power unit strapped in the back of his car, and sporting a helmet in his hero Ayrton Senna’s colours, Hamilton sent out a defiant message to Verstappen by taking top spot in qualifying, finishing almost half a second clear of his Red Bull rival.
Hamilton said: “I am so happy to be back here in Brazil. One of the guys that works here said I should use the Senna colours more often because that is my first pole in a long time. It has been such a while, it feels like the first.
“Today was a really good session and I am super happy. We have got the penalty on Sunday but I will give it all I have got. I will do my best to get through the field.” Hamilton’s Silver Arrows team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, will line up third ahead of Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull for the sprint race.
The Mercedes star, 19 points behind Verstappen with just four rounds left, has never won the championship when trailing at this stage.
And news of his second grid penalty in a month – after he was demoted 10 places at the Turkish Grand Prix for his fourth engine change – is unlikely to have improved his mood. But at a cold, grey and windy Interlagos – the scene of his maiden title triumph 13 years ago – Hamilton’s emphatic performance will provide him with hope that he can still clinch an historic eighth world title. His Mercedes team believe taking the engine punishment will at least allow their driver to compete for points in today’s 24-lap dash – the year’s third and final sprint race.
The winner is awarded three points, the runner-up two and third place one point. The result also determines the grid for the grand prix tomorrow.
But it means even if Hamilton wins the shortened race, he will start the 19th round of this record-breaking 22-race season no higher than sixth.
Should Verstappen take second, he will be promoted to pole position, putting him in the driving seat to extend his championship lead.
And Hamilton’s penalties may not be restricted to those suffered for the engine change, with stewards investigating whether to take action as his overtaking aid, the DRS system, had broken the rules.