Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Hamilton ends ‘hardest weekend’ with stunning win in Brazil
SAO PAULO » Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton ended “the hardest weekend I’ve had” with a stunning victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, and gained momentum in his Formula One title fight with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, beat Verstappen despite starting from 10th position on the grid due to a penalty — the second Hamilton faced this weekend in Sao Paulo.
Verstappen, the winner of the race’s previous edition in 2019, finished second and saw his lead in the driver’s championship shrink to 14 points, with three races left. The winner of a race gets 25 points.
“Let’s keep pushing,” Hamilton said on team radio after his sixth victory of the season. He took a Brazil flag to celebrate his win in the car and on the podium, just as his idol Ayrton Senna did.
Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, finished third and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was fourth with the Mexican clocking the fastest
lap of the race. The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fifth and sixth, respectively.
Verstappen led most of the race after the first turn, when he overtook polesitter Bottas. But Hamilton, who rose from 10th to third position in just six laps, went ahead of Verstappen on lap
59, putting a raucous crowd on their feet at Interlagos.
Hamilton finished the race with a 10-second advantage over Verstappen and said he felt like he had won his first race before a joyous crowd at Interlagos.
“I was pushing as hard as I could,” an emotional
Hamilton said after his 101st victory. “From last on the grid (for Saturday’s sprint race), and then another five-place penalty — I think that’s the hardest weekend I’ve had. Things kept going against us, but it just shows, never give up, keep fighting. Never, ever stop fighting.”