The most recent Brazilian Grand Prix took place in 2019, but the event came back in 2021 with a new name following a break due to COVID.
The race in Sao Paulo would keep taking place at Interlagos, with the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace hosting another exciting showdown between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Between 2005-2009, Brazil hosted some of the most famous Formula 1 races, where champions like Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton, and Jenson Button were crowned, while Sebastian Vettel also won his third title in 2012.
Hamilton’s disqualification
Heading into the weekend, Verstappen led Hamilton by 19 points in the closest F1 title battle since 2010, with Mercedes just one point ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ standings with four rounds left.
It would mark the third and last sprint race of the season, introducing a new format tested at the British, Italian, and Sao Paulo GPs that year.
During qualifying, where the sprint race order was determined and then set the grid for the grand prix, Hamilton stood out, leading by almost half a second – only to be disqualified for a technical violation.
While conducting the usual post-session parc ferme inspections, the officials discovered that his DRS slot gap was too big, surpassing the maximum allowable opening of 85mm – leading to his removal for a clear violation.
Nevertheless, a surprising turn of events occurred when video recorded in the parc ferme area revealed Verstappen making contact with Hamilton’s rear-wing, just beside the DRS slot, before it underwent inspection. The team claimed that Verstappen’s outside interference, which involved touching another car, was a clear violation of the rules and caused the penalty.
In the end, Verstappen was given a €50,000 fine for making contact with the rear-wing, while Hamilton was disqualified, giving Verstappen a significant lead in the title race as he started on pole for the sprint race with Hamilton at the back in 20th place – also known as last.
During the 25-lap race, he swiftly moved through the competitors in the W12, climbing to fifth position but ultimately not earning any points since only the top three finishers received them, with Verstappen collecting two points as Valtteri Bottas emerged victorious.
Yet, another unexpected turn was about to occur.
Hamilton would not be beginning the race from the fifth position anymore. Instead, he would be starting from the tenth place because Mercedes had installed a new internal combustion engine, which went beyond his permitted amount.
On the day of the race, he would speedily advance through the field yet again, catching up to his competitor for the title by the halfway point.
Verstappen goes aggressive – and too far
During lap 48 of 71, Hamilton activated the DRS to pass Verstappen at the Senna S corner before Turn 4, managing to overtake him on the outside and leading into the braking area.
Verstappen was the only one who disagreed and decided to let go of the brakes, causing both cars to go off into the run-off area – in other words, he pushed another driver off the track.
Following a short investigation by the stewards, no additional measures were implemented – however, based on current regulations, Verstappen would have likely been penalized with a five-second time penalty. Adrian Newey, the former chief technical officer at Red Bull, confessed that he had taken the move to an extreme.
On lap 59, approaching the braking zone of Turn 1, Hamilton tricked Verstappen by pretending to make a move on the inside under braking.
Verstappen dealt with it, causing him to lose position in the Senna Esses, allowing Hamilton to have a smoother run to Turn 4. He would zoom ahead to claim his 101st career win, finishing a comfortable 10.496s ahead of the Red Bull.
This resulted in Hamilton reducing Verstappen’s lead to 14 points, so if Hamilton wins the races in Qatar and Saudi Arabia with Verstappen coming in second with the fastest lap each time, they will enter the Abu Dhabi finale tied in points.
With a year of intense crashes at Silverstone, Verstappen parking his Red Bull on top of the Mercedes at Monza, and the antics in Sao Paulo, what other challenges lay ahead as the 2021 season neared its end in the Middle East?