The penalty imposed on Lewis Hamilton has led to the British Mercedes driver giving us a fascinating show on the track, as he has managed to climb 15 positions in just 24 laps.
There is no doubt that the spectacle of the third qualifying race of the season and also of the history of the Formula 1 It was put by Lewis Hamilton, who after being excluded from the classification on Friday for a technical infraction, was forced to start from 20th and last position.
And it is that the pilot of Mercedes He was not discouraged after what happened, climbing no less than 15 positions in 24 laps to finish fifth, only surpassed by Bottas, Verstappen, Sainz and Pérez.
“Honestly, I had no idea what was possible”
«It was difficult and I was just trying to focus on my work with my engineers and maintain high morale with my mechanics, focusing on the job in question and without thinking about it, “said Lewis Hamilton after the race in relation to the sanction received.
Of course it was devastating, but you can’t let that stop you. You have to keep your head down and keep going, so I quickly rebooted, focused my mind on what I could do and gave it my all, ”said the seven-time world champion.
Without a clear goal
Lewis hamilton He admits that before Saturday’s race at Interlagos he had not set specific goals, as he did not know how easy it would be to overtake. However, during the warm-up lap, he began to look feasible to finish in the Top 10.
Honestly, I had no idea what was possible. I did not set a limit or a maximum. When I was at the back of the grid, just before the formation lap, I could visualize 10th place and I thought, ‘That’s my goal, I have to go as far as possible’ ».
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But I moved faster than expected. I really used a lot of different things to motivate myself todayYou can’t give up, you have to keep pushing », he concluded.
After finishing fifth in this qualifying race, Lewis Hamilton will start tenth in Sunday’s race, as he must face one more penalty for changing engines, which is equivalent to five penalty positions. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen will start second behind Valtteri Bottas.