He had not seen victory since Russia in September, he has been chasing Max Verstappen in the world championship since the Turkish GP on October 10, but he has never looked so strong. Sunday November 14, Lewis Hamilton swallowed the asphalt of Interlagos faster than everyone, knocking out his main rival, Max Verstappen, who started eight places in front and finally relegated to more than 10 seconds at the finish. A show of force that revives him in the title race, since he is now only 14 points behind the young Dutchman.
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Three races to go
14 points in it
What a season
What a title race #BrazilGP # F1 pic.twitter.com/SexlILlbpZ– Formula 1 (@ F1) November 14, 2021
At the dawn of the final sprint and the last three meetings of the season (Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates), the seven-time world champion has several strong arguments to make in the candidacy for his own succession.
Because he has the experience of these big meetings
From the height of his seven record titles, Lewis Hamilton seems to have the shoulders to withstand the pressure that will invariably accompany the final races. “Lewis can do well, he is very strong, he is Zen”, confirms Daniel Ortelli, author of “Lewis Hamilton, the road of the champion” (2021). Throughout the season, the Mercedes driver hung on to overcome technical problems and make up for mistakes made, by himself or by his team.
This weekend again in Brazil, Lewis Hamilton worked to gain a cumulative 25 penalty places. “Don’t piss him off. When he’s upset, things don’t go his way, he gets even stronger.”, notes the biographer. A character that has served him in the many title races he has contested since his first coronation in 2008, and on which he can still rely.
Because he is surrounded by a team that seeks the best technical decisions
In the race for the title, the role of the teams is just as essential. And here too, Mercedes can do its best to support its driver as best as possible and get the best out of Red Bull. “Over the season, the two teams are of equivalent quality, they have posted a very high level”, recalls Daniel Ortelli. “Lewis will be able to rely on Mercedes, who have made technical decisions that can tip the scales in his favor at the end of the season, such as changing the thermal engine.”
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This change had earned the Briton five penalty places on the starting grid of the Grand Prix, but was largely offset on the track by the pace found by the Mercedes n ° 44, unstoppable throughout the 71 laps of the race. An advantage that should always carry the reigning champion over the next races, “even though the engine will decline over time, with wear and tear, as Max Verstappen mentioned after the race.”
Because others have already reported delays in the past
This is not the first time in the recent history of Formula 1 that drivers have faced a gap to be filled on the final path to the supreme title. In 2007, three races from the end of the season, the future champion Kimi Raikkonen was 13 points behind Lewis Hamilton, precisely. The Finn will finally be crowned at the end of the final race of the season, at Interlagos. He arrived in Brazil seven units behind the Briton, before winning and taking the title by a small point.
In 2010, the championship was also played during the final Grand Prix. The young Sebastian Vettel, who arrived in Abu Dhabi third in the general classification behind Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso, wins the race and takes advantage of the underperformance of his two opponents (who finish 8th and 7th respectively) to clinch an unexpected title. The German driver had never led the championship of the season, before this famous last race. Eleven years later, the suspense promises to be there again.