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Lewis Hamilton on the podium: This season's championship fight is a back and forth between him and Max Verstappen
Photo:
Sebastiao Moreira / EPA
After 48 laps the time had come: Max Verstappen's lead of originally ten starting positions over his rival for the world title had been used up. With an enormous excess of speed, Lewis Hamilton had taken more than two seconds from him in just three laps. At turn four there was an attack, Hamilton was already on the outside to overtake, Verstappen held against it, both cars drifted off the track. Hamilton dodged, there was no contact.
Both teams frantically radioed the race management, the battle for victory in the São Paulo Grand Prix was no longer just fought on the track. Red Bull was lucky, there was no investigation of the scene. Ten laps later, it issued a warning when Verstappen zigzagged on the back straight to keep Hamilton behind. Vain. At the time it was a battle with unequal resources, and a little later it was lost to Verstappen.
Hamilton, who received several penalties on the race weekend, managed to make up a total of 24 positions in the sprint on Saturday and in the race on Sunday and was the first Formula 1 driver to win from tenth on the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, also known as Interlagos to drive.
The fourth last race weekend of the season for Mercedes had been one thing above all else: a real excitement.
Hamilton was sanctioned a total of three times:
During the technical examination after qualifying on Friday, it became apparent that the Drag Reduction System (DRS) on Hamilton's rear wing opened 0.2 millimeters further than allowed at one of three measuring points.
Hamilton was disqualified and went into the sprint qualification last.
The investigation was apparently only carried out after a request from Red Bull, but for another reason: They wanted to have identified a questionable flexibility of the wing and therefore turned to the world association Fia. Verstappen himself received a fine after qualifying for touching both his and Hamilton's car in Parc Fermé.
After Hamilton had moved up from last to fifth place in the sprint, he was moved back five places for the race, as the fifth combustion engine was used on his racing car.
Only three can be used per season without penalty.
At the beginning of October, Hamilton had already been moved back ten positions in Turkey because he exceeded the engine contingent there for the first time.
Each further change is then only accompanied by a transfer of five places.
Because he grabbed a Brazilian flag from the car on his lap of honor after winning the race and subsequently loosened his seat belts prematurely, the stewards finally imposed a fine of 5,000 euros.
So it could have been the best conditions for Red Bull to further extend the World Championship lead.
Although Hamilton was faster than Verstappen with the new engine on Friday, he had previously remained without a win for three races in a row, while the Dutchman recently won confidently in Mexico and Austin - also thanks to a clever tactical coup.
After finishing second in the sprint, his lead in the championship drivers' standings had grown to 21 points.
"From another planet"
And Red Bull initially had everything under control in Brazil too. Immediately after the start, Verstappen passed Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes, Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull followed a little later. This meant that Mercedes' strategy of holding Verstappen through Bottas for as long as possible until Hamilton could get there was no longer applicable. It quickly turned out that Hamilton did not need such help: within five laps he had advanced to third position after Bottas had let him pass.
Pérez did a better job. After a virtual safety car phase, he was able to keep Hamilton in check until lap 19, but then had to determine: "The speed on the straight was from another planet." The earthly scoreboard read 71 Round finally over ten seconds ahead for Hamilton on Verstappen.
Wolff causes a stir with a gesture to the race management
The audience was stunned - as was Red Bull.Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff, who had already shown an angry, triumphant expression in the camera during Hamilton's overtaking maneuver in the garage and later declared that the gesture was directed at the race management, was furious afterwards Further. It was an “absolute mess” that Verstappen didn't get a penalty for the scene at Turn 48: “We were thrown things at our heads all weekend, but in the end we won and came third,” he said. He is certain: "We are being shot at."
Mercedes has been struggling with engine reliability problems for a long time, Bottas is already using the sixth combustion engine. It is therefore also a strategic consideration when to switch again. In São Paulo, Wolff said that another swap at Hamilton's car was not planned.
At Red Bull, on the other hand, they were thoughtful.
"We have not seen an engine like this from Mercedes in recent years," said Head of Motorsport Helmut Marko, and: "They managed a masterpiece to conjure up another rocket in such a crucial phase." If it goes on like this, see it "Not looking good" with the World Cup.
Team boss Christian Horner made a similar statement.
When Hamilton overtook Verstappen, he was almost 30 kilometers per hour faster, they wanted to continue looking for the reasons for this.
Marko added that there were not yet enough facts for a possible protest.
Will the decision be made at the season finale?
The drivers themselves were more relaxed.
Hamilton viewed Verstappen's maneuver during his overtaking attempt as a "racing accident" which ultimately no longer played a role.
Verstappen summed up: In the end there was a little lack of speed, "but we gave everything and it was fun."
And the fun continues, Mercedes made sure of that.
Due to his race to catch up, Hamilton shortens his deficit in the drivers' standings to 14 points - a decision in terms of the world championship will therefore be made in the penultimate race in Saudi Arabia at the earliest.
Verstappen could expand his lead to a maximum of 40 points at the race premiere in Qatar next weekend.
In the last two races there are still 52 points (victory plus fastest race lap) to be awarded.
With material from dpa and sid
