Hamilton talks about best weekend of his career after overcoming in São Paulo

Lewis Hamilton was visibly moved after winning the São Paulo F1 GP this Sunday (14). For the 36-year-old Brit, punished twice over the weekend, the victory at Interlagos was one of the biggest overruns of his career as a driver.

“I don’t remember another weekend like this,” he said. “I gave it my all and this was probably one of the best weekends, if not the best I’ve had probably in my entire career,” said Hamilton.

After starting tenth, he managed to take the lead at Interlagos by climbing the grid and leaving even the championship leader, Dutchman Max Verstappen, behind. The Red Bull driver finished second and saw his championship lead fall — he has 332.5 points against the Englishman’s 318.5, with three more stages left in the season.

“My dad reminded me of 2004, when I raced Formula 3 in Bahrain, starting last and finishing first. This one [vitória] it’s for my dad,” Hamilton added.

The Constructors’ World Championship is also close, with Mercedes at the top with 521.5 points. Red Bull, in second place, has 510.5 —Valtteri Bottas was third in the São Paulo GP and Sergio Pérez, fourth.

On the podium, the Mercedes duo also celebrated along with Brazilian engineer Leonardo Donizete da Silva, 30, who has worked for the German team for five years and was chosen to represent the team at the trophies ceremony.

Born in Patos de Minas (MG), Silva holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Unicamp (State University of Campinas).

“Coming here 19 points behind [na disputa de pilotos], just one point ahead in the team championship, we really needed a solid result,” Hamilton said.

Since Friday (12), Mercedes has shown itself stronger in São Paulo. First, Hamilton took pole in qualifying for the sprint race. Despite being punished for an irregularity in the wing of his car and having to start last, he finished fifth in the fast race.

This Sunday, he had to serve another punishment, this one for changing the car’s combustion engine. Started tenth, but finished highest on the podium.

In Interlagos, he raised the public not only for this exhibition, but also for paying homage to Ayrton Senna, parading with a Brazilian flag after the victory, in a characteristic gesture of the idol.

Valtteri Bottas surrendered to his teammate’s performance. “I’m happy because we got more points than Red Bull, and Lewis was amazing. He was on another level today,” he commented.​

For Verstappen, despite all the partying around his rival, the lead in the championship is still secure.

“We still have a good difference in the lead [de 14 pontos], so at least it was damage control on a weekend that was a little more difficult for us,” acknowledged Verstappen. “I’m confident that in the next few races we’ll recover,” he said.

According to the leader of the season, he and the Englishman had a good dispute, but the Mercedes car was faster for the Brazilian stage. “It was a good battle, but of course there was a lack of rhythm in the end. We gave it our all today and it was a lot of fun.”