Hamilton devastated after his penalty, happy after his comeback

A performance from a seven-time world champion. This is what we concocted Lewis Hamilton this Saturday at Interlagos during the 3rd Sprint round of the year.

Forced to start 20th and last on the São Paulo grid after being excluded from qualifying for technical irregularity, the pilot Mercedes signed a superb comeback on the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.

« When I heard the news of the penalty, the effect was devastating, said Hamilton after the Sprint. But we had to ignore all that with the team because it's easy to get carried away by negative thoughts in these circumstances.

I didn't know what the outcome was going to be, but I definitely wanted to fight.

I had no idea how far back I could go back at first. I told myself that I had to try to grab the Top 10 ».

Hamilton will do much better. From the first turn, he had swallowed the modest Haas et Williams. On the 8th lap, the Englishman was already knocking on the door of his initial objective after overtaking his old rival Fernando Alonso (Alpine).

He then stumbled for a few loops on the McLaren-Mercedes of Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton found the opening on the 13th lap, then followed up with Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin).

The French Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) offered little resistance, just as Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

Hamilton completed his number on the 24th and final lap by surprising Lando Norris (McLaren) braking on the approach to the Senna Esses.

The Mercedes driver crosses the finish line in 5th position, a stone's throw from the Top 3. He will therefore start 10th on the grid for the São Paulo Grand Prix, the result of his non-regulatory engine change which earned him 5 places hindsight.

If his rival Max Verstappen widens the gap in the Drivers' championship by 2 points after finishing 2nd in the Sprint, Hamilton still limits the damage with his lightning comeback.

« I'm very happy with the result, especially after the challenges we went through with the team this weekend, he also commented.

I found myself climbing back up and gaining ground much faster than I thought. I used lots of different techniques to manage fuel.

It was impossible to give up so I kept attacking ».

For Hamilton, all that's left to do is start again on Sunday afternoon for 71 laps.

P20??? P5@LewisHamilton put on an overtaking show on Saturday!#BrazilGP ?? # F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/erH6WjvMIi

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 13, 2021