For a moment, the drivers’ title seemed out of reach. But on a damp afternoon during the last lap of the last race of the 2008 Formula One season in São Paulo, Brazil, Lewis Hamilton overtook Timo Glock to finish the race in the top five, scoring enough points to become the then-youngest Formula One champion.
When the Formula One circuit returned to São Paulo this weekend, Hamilton faced a similar conundrum with the drivers’ championship slipping away, and this time, a pair of penalties handicapping his pursuit.
Through a weekend of deft and exhilaratingly precise racing, Hamilton conjured a similar magic, charging past 15 drivers in Saturday’s sprint race then passing nine, including rival Max Verstappen, to win Sunday’s São Paulo Grand Prix. Hamilton narrowed the gap between himself and Verstappen as the 2021 season and their contentious title chase draws to its close.
Hamilton, 36, has been the most dominant force in the sport over the past decade, winning back-to-back drivers’ championships in 2014 and 2015 and then claiming each of the past four, tying the legendary Michael Schumacher’s record of seven. He owns several Formula One records, including those for career wins and top-three finishes.
Verstappen, his 24-year-old Dutch rival, has sought to usurp Hamilton’s throne, capturing the season lead from the British driver over the previous three races. After Sunday’s result, which saw Hamilton sweep past Verstappen on lap 59 before they finished first and second, the duo has finished in the top two together 11 times this year, with Verstappen winning six of those duels.
Formula One drivers earn 25 points for first place, 18 for second and 15 for third, and that allotment continues to decrease through 10th place. Additional, albeit minimal, points can be earned by turning in the fastest lap while finishing in the top 10 or finishing in the top three during occasional sprint races — whose results, as they did in Brazil on Saturday, determine starting position for the race Sunday.
Hamilton entered Sunday’s race with a 21-point deficit, and needed to keep that divide within 25 points if he hoped to stretch the title chase to the season finale in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 12.
A race-ending crash or a mechanical failure would be consequential for both drivers. If Verstappen had been forced to retire from Sunday’s São Paulo Grand Prix and Hamilton won, the latter would have reclaimed his lead ahead of the next race in Qatar on Nov. 21. A Hamilton race retirement Sunday would have all but ended his title bid.
That narrow margin of error ostensibly exerts a more acute pressure on the hunter, but Hamilton on Thursday avoided labeling Sunday’s contest as “must-win,” saying, “Every race is a must-win race.”
The following day, that objective became more challenging.
After Hamilton topped a Friday trial that amounted to qualifying for the qualifying of Sunday’s race, he was penalized for a regulatory breach related to the rear wing of his car. He was cast from first to last place for the start of Saturday’s qualifying event while Verstappen — who received a fine of 50,000 euros after he was caught touching Hamilton’s wing in question — slid into the top spot. Exacerbating Hamilton’s situation was a separate engine penalty that guaranteed he would start five places behind his qualifying result for Sunday’s race.
Hamilton responded in Saturday’s qualifying event, surging from 20th to 16th, then 12th and eighth, and, following a sumptuous overtake of Lando Norris, secured an impressive fifth-place finish. He started in 10th on Sunday because of the engine penalty, several spots behind Verstappen in second.
💬 "I just never give up, you can’t ever give up!
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 13, 2021
"Of course, it was devastating when I heard about the verdict but you can’t let that hold you back.
"You’ve got to keep your head down and keep going."
💪 - @LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/dbws3t60pb
Hamilton probed and sliced through the field over 24 laps on Saturday, reinvigorating whatever excitement was lost after his two setbacks threatened the competitiveness of his battle with Verstappen this weekend. Over 71 laps Sunday, he did much of the same, while shrinking Verstappen’s lead to 14 points.
Hamilton edged Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez for second around a turn on lap 19. On lap 48, Verstappen rejected Hamilton’s advance and sent the reigning champion wide off the track. But 11 laps later, as Hamilton continued to stalk the young challenger, he found an opening and burst ahead, ultimately capturing a crucial win in the same city where he secured his first championship.
Despite his deficit, Hamilton was loath to pass the torch or his title with races in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi still to come. After climbing back into the title chase Sunday, he made a point to remind Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff how far he’d come just this weekend.
“That is how you overcome a 20-place disqualification,” Wolff said over the team’s radio.
“It was actually 25,” Hamilton replied, “but you’re right.”
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