Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen almost collided at the Brazilian Grand Prix in a controversial wheel-to-wheel duel.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen almost collided again while attempting to execute an overtake in the 48th lap. But Verstappen forced the seven-time world champion out off the track to retain the lead.
The stewards looked at the incident between the two title contenders and concluded that no investigation was necessary. Hamilton eventually moved past Verstappen on lap 59 and went on to win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff was delighted with the drivers’ performance at the race. He pointed out that throughout the weekend, barely anything worked in Mercedes’ favour.
Hamilton started at the back of the grid in the sprint race after being disqualified from the qualifying on Friday. Even though he delivered a remarkable performance in the sprint by finishing in the fifth position, he started the main race from tenth place because of the new ICE.
Wolff said, “after everything that was thrown on us, it feels so much sweeter when you can prove that you can still rise.”
When asked about his opinion about the incident between the title rivals, Wolff said, “first of all, it’s hard racing and that’s what we love. Max is really good with his race craft and the positioning and he knew that it’s most probably the end. That’s why he drove him[Hamilton] off the track.”
“But Lewis was brilliant because he avoided any contact. And that was the key to unlocking the race. But not investigating any further, honestly, it’s embarrassing, not for us, but it’s just embarrassing.”
Also Read: Lewis Hamilton wins the São Paulo Grand Prix from tenth-place grid penalty
Lewis Hamilton faced the hardest weekend
The British racing driver lauded his team for the fantastic job that helped him win the Brazilian GP for the third time. The 36-year-old also became the first driver to win the Brazil GP after starting lower than eighth.
Hamilton said, “What a race! The team did an amazing job. Valtteri did a great job to get as many points as possible.”
“I was pushing as hard as I could. From last on the grid and then another five-place penalty I think was the hardest weekend I’ve had, but my dad reminded me of 2004 when I was in Formula 3 when I was in Bahrain when I started last and then I finished 10th and then I finished first. So this one was for my dad.”
“Coming into this weekend I never ever thought we would be able to close the gap like we had today,” he further added.
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