The 2021 season was an unsettling year for Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. The driver who holds the title of seven-time World Champion equalling himself to the most famed name of the sport, Michael Schumacher, missed his eighth win by a narrow margin at the infamous Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to a much junior driver at Red Bull, Max Verstappen.
It eventually led to the deterioration of the dominance Hamilton held over the sport and resulted in the rise of Red Bull and Verstappen.
Apart from this, the Briton faced another setback at the Brazilian Grand Prix of 2021 which took place in mid-November. His chances were severely harmed when he was disqualified from the qualifying round owing to a technical error with the DRS system.
This incident was thoroughly investigated by the governing body which eventually passed their judgment of disqualifying the driver which gave Verstappen the remarkable opportunity to gather all the points that he could.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
Lewis Hamilton is disqualified from qualifying Brazil 2021. #BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Q4A941eGHE
— vega🫀 (@vegaaa_m) November 13, 2021
To give better clarity on the situation, FIA’s technical delegate came forward to declare, “The uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions were checked on car number 44 for compliance with Article 3.6.3 of the 2021 Formula One Technical Regulations. But the requirement for the maximum of 85mm, when the DRS system is deployed and tested in accordance with TD/011-19, were not fulfilled.” However, Lewis managed to secure the top spot the very next day during the sprint race.
Toto Wolff thinks Lewis Hamilton “woke up the lion” after the setback at the Brazilian GP
The transformation Hamilton had within a matter of a couple of hours over the same weekend is magnificent. He ran with incredible resilience in the Sprint race, moving up from 20th to finish a good fifth and winning the Brazilian Grand Prix eventually.
The team principal of Mercedes Toto Wolff proudly said, “Lewis is totally in the zone. They woke up the lion in Interlagos on that Saturday and you see that.”
Sir Lewis Hamilton, honorary citizen of Brazil 🥹💚 pic.twitter.com/PEci6ltQZC
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) November 7, 2022
In a breathtaking finish, he overtook his competitors, including Verstappen, to claim a historic triumph that would go down in history.
However, according to the driver, he faced an extreme crisis at that moment and said, “I remember that moment for me, my heart just sunk because I knew I had to win every race.” Regardless, he fought brilliantly for his spot in the championship battle.
When asked about his experience that day in Sao Paulo, the Briton said, “I think for sure my best race ever and probably the most special race of my career. I was hoping that I would lift up the nation in some way even though I wasn’t from Brazil, except now I am Brazilian.” Lewis Hamilton holds honorary citizenship of Brazil, which he cherishes.
