Verstappen Gives Tribute To Hamilton After Winning At Interlagos Grand Prix

Max Verstappen said that he and Lewis Hamilton accorded each other due respect during their fight for the Brazilian Grand Prix Victory. In so doing, he has termed battling it out with the Formula 1 world champion as something which gives him satisfaction.

Despite the fact he started from pole position in Interlagos, Verstappen had to pass Hamilton twice so he could win because Mercedes's strategy calls kept giving Hamilton the track position.

The Red Bull driver’s first pass came shortly after the first pitstop when he came from the inside when going into Turn 1. His second pass came after a safety car restart.

Verstappen said he was not sure if Red Bull’s decision to stop him under the race’s penultimate safety car that dropped him behind Hamilton and set up the race-winning move was going to be successful.

He was glad to get a line behind Hamilton and then went around the outside, aided by the tire advantage.

Verstappen and Hamilton were at odds during the recent Mexican Grand Prix leading to Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel’s open criticism about how the Red Bull driver handled wheel to wheel combat.

This time, though, it was Hamilton who did the brawling on the track after tapping Alex Albon into a spin as they battled for second place during the penultimate lap.

The incident was immediately placed under investigation though the stewards wanted to hear from both drivers on the matter.

Hamilton admitted fault on the matter, saying he was the one coming from behind.

Rather than have Hamilton appear in front of the stewards, the sporting director Ron Meadows passed on a message that their driver had admitted he was the one to blame and obliged the stewards to award a five-second penalty.

Ron Meadows, speaking on behalf of the team, admitted the strategy to have Hamilton come up from behind and take the line was impetuous and a rash gamble to get a podium finish for Mercedes considering Valtteri Bottas had already suffered mechanical failure.

Meadows admitted they were not quick enough to lead in a commanding fashion and so the team was reaching a bit at the end.

Other Interlagos failures included Ferrari, who had to retire early after both Charles LeClerc and Vettel touched, causing significant damage to both cars. It was a nightmare for the team, considering they had to leave the Brazil Grand Prix pointless.

Pierre Gasly came in second for Toro Rosso, and Carlos Sainz Junior took up third place instead of Hamilton for McLaren. It was the best finish for both Gasly and Sainz during the season.