Monday 15th November 2021
The F1 lessons of Brazil
With Hamilton ecstasy comes a bitter fight
Max Verstappen is still in the front, his first world title could soon become a reality. But Formula 1 is more exciting than it has been in a long time – and series world champion Lewis Hamilton shows in Brazil that he can still be expected. This also intensifies the skirmishes of the rival teams.
Hamilton suddenly had an enormous advantage
A week ago in Mexico, the record world champion resigned himself to Red Bull’s pace. On Saturday after being relegated to last place on the grid for the São Paulo sprint, he was emotionally on the ground – and on Sunday, Hamilton was the beaming race winner. The Briton has now achieved 101 Formula 1 victories, and Interlagos will have to be counted among the most outstanding. The first praise came from the boss. “That was definitely one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from him,” enthused Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff after his sixth win of the season. “I gave everything. It was definitely one of the best weekends, if not the best weekend, that I have experienced in my entire career,” said the seven-time world champion. Which raises a question that the entire Red Bull team is also asking: Where does Hamilton’s enormous speed advantage on the straights come from? And will it stop in the last three races? “As far as I can remember, we have never seen an engine like this from Mercedes in the last few years, unbelievable,” said Red Bulls motorsport advisor Helmut Marko. “Mercedes has achieved a masterpiece in conjuring up such a rocket in this crucial phase.”
Verstappen has even better chances
The Dutchman did not ask these questions, at least not in public. Verstappen took it sportily that he could not use the apparently good starting position to make a World Cup preliminary decision. He started the sprint 19 places ahead of Hamilton, eight places ahead of his rival – and yet the world championship leader had to let his pursuer go in the end. The 24-year-old is still 14 points ahead, so he doesn’t have to sleep restlessly. “We still have a good lead,” said Verstappen, who wants to win his first world title. “We tried to limit the damage. I am confident that we can fight back in the coming races.” It is quite possible that he and Hamilton will swap roles again in a week in Qatar. It would fit this Formula 1 season.
The rivalry becomes fiercer
Until the start of the race on Sunday, the stories were made that weekend in the office of the FIA, the World Automobile Federation. Representatives from Mercedes and Red Bull gave each other the handle. Sometimes they were summoned, sometimes they looked for the direct route to the stewards to raise suspicions – the latter mainly applies to Red Bull. It is getting dirtier between the top representatives of the World Cup contenders. Red Bull suspects fraud at Mercedes (in early summer it was exactly the other way around), Mercedes feels disadvantaged by the FIA. “We love the competition, and the more Toto gets excited, the more fun it is,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently admitted. So far, these skirmishes have contributed to the tension and entertainment, but the teams shouldn’t overuse politics and whining. For Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, the fun is over now: “We had to take a lot of blows in the face this weekend,” said the Austrian. “Diplomacy has ended.”
The Germans are only there
Yes, the two Germans were also there in São Paulo – and each experienced a weekend that was similar to many this season: Schumacher tried hard, had a slight contact early in the race that gave him time and ultimately the (traditional) penultimate place cost. Vettel sniffed World Cup points, but missed them by one position. The good news: the season is almost over. In 2022 the cards will be reshuffled with new regulations, at least that is the plan of the Formula 1 top. From the point of view of Vettel and Schumacher, one can only hope that their hand will then improve.