Hamilton surprised by his recovery following a ‘devastating’ penalty

Lewis Hamilton improved from 20th to fifth place in the Interlagos Sprint Qualifying race, which he was pleased with.

After a “devastating” penalty, Lewis Hamilton was amazed at how quickly he recovered during Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying race ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, rising from 20th to fifth.

Hamilton led qualifying at Interlagos on Friday, but his Mercedes was disqualified due to a DRS (Drag Reduction System) violation, forcing him to start the Sprint from the back of the grid.

He fought his way through the field over the course of the 24-lap race to finish fifth, but his engine change penalty will see him drop to 10th on the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

“Honestly, I had no idea what was possible. I didn’t set a limit or a maximum,” Hamilton said as he reflected on the race.

“When I was at the back of the grid, just before the start, before we pulled away for the formation lap, I think I might have been able to see 10th and I was like, ‘OK, that’s my goal. I’ve gotta try and get as far up as possible’.

“All of sudden, I was chipping away at it much faster, and I really used a lot of different things for fuel today. I just never gave… You can’t give up, you’ve gotta keep pushing.”

“Penalty was tough”

Given their performance, Hamilton said that the qualifying exclusion was difficult for him and Mercedes to accept.

“It was definitely tough,” he commented, when asked about his reaction to the news.

“Whilst the team were working away, delegating with the stewards, I was just trying to focus on my work with my engineers and keeping the morale with my mechanics high, just focusing on the job at hand, not thinking about it.

“Just before [the race] I heard about the result and it was devastating, but you can’t let that hold you back. [You’ve got to] keep your head down and keep going. I quickly reset, got my mind focused on doing what I could do, and just giving it my everything.”

Mercedes’ radio messages

Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff was heard on the radio after the race complimenting Hamilton on his victory “”F**k them all,” he said, adding “brilliant” damage limitation, to which Hamilton replied, “Copy.” It’s not yet over.”

Peter Bonnington, Hamilton’s race engineer, also made a playful allusion to Max Verstappen’s parc ferme incident on Saturday.

After qualifying, Verstappen touched Hamilton’s rear wing, which was a violation of the FIA International Sporting Code due to parc ferme regulations, and was fined €50,000.

“OK Lewis, just make sure you don’t touch any other cars or check them out in any way…” said Bonnington, as his driver pulled up in the pits.

Verstappen’s advantage over Hamilton in the championship battle has grown from 19 to 21 points after he finished second in the Sprint.

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