Lewis Hamilton has won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, outduelling championship rival Max Verstappen at Interlagos.
The pair went wheel-to-wheel on a number of occasions during the race, however on lap 59, Hamilton swept ahead of the Dutchman at Turn 4.
Verstappen took the lead of the race on the opening lap into Turn 1, passing pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas, who also dropped behind the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
With Hamilton climbing up the order, both Verstappen and Hamilton stopped twice for fresh sets of Hards, however Hamilton’s pace was enough to get by Verstappen and eat into the championship deficit.
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Valtteri Bottas was third on the road in the second Mercedes, benefitting from a pitstop under a Virtual Safety Car after a collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll at Turn 1, which jumped him back ahead of Sergio Perez who finished fourth.
Hamilton now sits just 14 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings with three races remaining.
Hamilton makes quick work of engine penalty loss
Having impressively climbed through the field during the F1 Sprint on Saturday after being disqualified from Friday’s qualifying session, Hamilton was demoted from fifth to 10th for the start of Sunday’s grand prix.
Another strong recovery was launched from the outset, as the seven-time world champion progressed into sixth place by the start of lap two.
He made quick work of the Ferrari duo ahead and was let past team-mate Bottas and into the podium positions on lap 6.
Soon after, Hamilton momentarily moved ahead of Perez for second place before Perez reclaimed the spot. However on the next lap, Hamilton solidified the position and set his sights on Verstappen.
An attempted undercut closed the gap to Verstappen, and after the second phase of stops, both drivers had each other for company and found themselves running off the road at Turn 4 amid a battle – the stewards opted not to investigate Verstappen’s stout defence.
Ferrari strengthens hold on third
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz came home in fifth and sixth respectively, in what was a strong showing for the Italian outfit. With McLaren picking up just one point courtesy of Lando Norris in 10th, Ferrari has extended its lead over its rivals in third place.
Norris and Sainz collided on the run to Turn 1 on the opening lap, with Norris sustaining a puncture and forcing him to recover. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo retired from the event with a power loss.
Pierre Gasly was seventh for AlphaTauri, heading the Alpine duo of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.
Stroll was the only other driver to retire from the race, with his team-mate Sebastian Vettel unable to break into points, ending the race 1.2 seconds behind 10th-placed Norris.
[motorsport_result id=’76786′]
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