Lewis Hamilton has won the Brazilian Grand Prix, climbing from 10th place to overtake Max Verstappen and narrow the gap to his Formula 1 title rival to 14 points.
Hamilton was excluded from qualifying in Sao Paulo and demoted to the back of Saturday’s sprint race after his Mercedes fell foul of the technical regulations and his pole lap at Interlagos was chalked off. The Briton performed impressively to finish fifth in the sprint, but he also served a five-place grid penalty for using his fifth power unit of the season – when only three are permitted.
But the defending champion surged from 10th on the grid up to second at the Brazilian GP on Sunday, before engaging in a thrilling battle with championship leader Verstappen. Hamilton’s first attempt to overtake the Red Bull driver saw the Dutchman force the seven-time title-winner off the track, but Hamilton got past Verstappen on Lap 59 of 71. Hamilton then retained the lead to win in Sao Paulo, narrowing the gap to Verstappen with three races left this year. Verstappen finished second, while Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas – who had started on pole – rounded out the podium.
Re-live all the action and follow all the fallout from the Brazilian Grand Prix:
