Max Verstappen’s win at the season-ending Abu Dhabi grand prix in 2020 provided a little hint that Red Bull may be able to fight Mercedes come 2021, especially since the regulations stayed mostly stable. But the 2021 season, so far, has turned out to be far beyond the wildest expectations of most F1 fans.
And as if determined to write its own dramatic chapter into the history books of 2021 the famed Interlagos circuit hosted an incredible Brazilian grand prix weekend. The sprint format was called upon again, which meant that running was reduced to only two practice sessions. As the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton hit the track the FIA documentation confirmed that car number 44 would start five places lower on the grid from where he qualified due to fitting a new internal combustion engine. It wasn’t ideal, but also not the end of the world given the that the circuit is significantly easy to overtake on than at last week’s Mexican grand prix.
It wouldn’t be the only setback for Hamilton and Mercedes though as a technical rule infringement sent him to the very back of the grid for the start of the Saturday sprint qualifying race. The infringement centered on the rear-wing DRS flap and the slot gap, which was found not be at the compulsory 85 mm when in operation. It felt team principal fuming and uncharacteristically disparaging. Nevertheless, there was a job to be done and Hamilton had to do it.
What followed from Hamilton was a mesmerizing 24-lap exhibition of overtaking. While Valtteri Bottas got the jump on Max Verstappen and held off the Red Bull driver to win the Sprint Hamilton carved his way through the field to finish a highly impressive tenth. But if Saturday’s performance was impressive then what he delivered on Sunday was breathtaking. The ‘Still We Rise’ mantra, a play on a famed Maya Angelou poem, has adorned his helmet for several years now but this weekend he truly exemplified it. By lap five of the race, he had already carved his way through the field, from tenth to fourth. He eased into third with some assistance from Bottas and set off after the Red Bulls. The Safety-Car was deployed on lap 6 as debris littered turn 1 after a more-than-ambitious move from Yuki Tsunoda resulted in a clash with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Cognizant of Hamilton’s prodigious straight-line speed Verstappen would have to be smart about the restart, which he left until the very last to nullify the slipstream effect, at least temporarily. Two laps later the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) would deploy, this time to gather up debris from Mick Schumacher, who lost his front-wing.
Racing resumed on lap 15 and Hamilton took only three laps to close the gap to Perez. The Mexican did all he can to hold off Hamilton, even re-overtaking him into turn 4, but Hamilton returned the favour a lap later and was into second place. Verstappen had built around a four second gap at this stage and Hamilton wasn’t making as much in-roads. Instead, Mercedes called Hamilton into the pits on lap 27 to affect the undercut. Verstappen responded with his own stop a lap later and emerged in the lead of the race but with Hamilton now only 1.5 seconds behind.
Another VSC was needed on lap 30, this time to collect debris falling off Stroll’s car. The gap between Verstappen and Hamilton hovered around the one-second mark until Verstappen stopped for the hard compound tyre on lap 41. Hamilton stayed out for three more laps before making. His stop on lap 44. Again, he emerged, again, just behind Verstappen. He was soon within DRS range and on-board graphics showed a 30 kph advantage in Hamilton’s favour over Verstappen. On lap 48 Hamilton attempted a move around the outside of Verstappen in turn 4, but both ran off track as the Dutchman opened his steering and defended the position. While race stewards noted the move, no investigation was deemed necessary and thus Verstappen got no penalty. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Hamilton fan who’d agree with the steward’s decision just as you’d struggle to find a Verstappen fan who sees anything wrong with the move. But, in reality, the move was on the edge of deserving a penalty. In fact, Verstappen should feel like he got away with one for that move. Nevertheless, everyone would rather see it chalked up to hard racing that decided with penalties.
Eventually, Hamilton would take the lead of the race on lap 59 and sailed off into the distance. Meanwhile, Verstappen cruised home in second knowing that he didn’t have the pace to challenge Hamilton. Third-place finisher Bottas benefited from the Schumacher-VSC with a cheap pitstop and jumped Perez, ultimately fourth, through the pitstop phase. The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fifth and sixth ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly in seventh. Esteban Ocon scored his first points in Brazil with a fine eighth place finish in front of Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Lando Norris in tenth.
Fan or not, Hamilton’s performance in Brazil deserves all of the praise and recognition. It was a stunning performance against a seemingly insurmountable task and it should be celebrated for the breathtaking drive it was. Three races remain in 2021 and what has gone before shows that whether it is Verstappen or Hamilton who walk away with the big prize both would be deserved of the 2021 crown.
