Astonishing Lewis Hamilton comeback triggers Max Verstappen title worry

Lewis Hamilton completed one of the most dramatic comeback victories of his career at the 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, winning from 10th on the grid after a weekend that began with disqualification and punishment.

Hamilton was thrown out of Friday qualifying after his Mercedes failed a DRS deflection test, with stewards finding the rear wing's outer flap opened beyond the permitted 85 millimetres under Article 3.6.3 of the technical regulations. 

The stewards accepted the failure likely stemmed from a mechanical fault rather than deliberate design, but strict liability rules meant disqualification was unavoidable. 

That dropped him to the back of the grid for Saturday's sprint, where he also carried a separate five-place grid penalty for an additional internal combustion engine, applied to Sunday's race.

Hamilton's blistering pace was already on display during the sprint, as he climbed 15 positions in 24 laps to end the sprint in fifth.

Starting the grand prix down in 10th, Hamilton sliced through the field and set up a fierce fight for the lead with Max Verstappen, who had started second, behind pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas. 

The Dutchman held firm in a lengthy defensive battle, resisting the Mercedes for much of the race before Hamilton finally found a way past. 

The seven-time champion went on to win by over 10 seconds from Verstappen, with Valtteri Bottas completing the podium, cutting further into the championship leader's advantage.

 

What was said after the race?

Hamilton reflected on the scale of the turnaround in the press conference afterwards.

"Coming into this weekend I never, ever thought that we would be able to close the gap like we have today," he said, speaking to the FIA press conference. "These things that just kept going against us, but I think it shows for everyone, just never give up."

"It's easy to get down when you are faced with difficult things like penalties and engine penalties. But everyone just stayed positive, everyone has done such a great job."

Verstappen, who defended for much of the race distance, was pragmatic about losing out at the front.

"We tried everything we could of course," he said. 

"It was a good battle but of course at the end we just missed a little bit of pace. But we gave it all today and it was a lot of fun."

"We still have a good points lead you know, so today was a bit of damage limitation on a weekend where it was a bit difficult but I'm confident that in the coming races we'll bounce back."