At the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix, George Russell defeated Lewis Hamilton, and the race in Interlagos this year signifies 700 days since the British driver’s last Formula One victory.
Lewis Hamilton threatened Max Verstappen, saying he would “take the fight” to Red Bull, and said he didn’t intend to leave Sao Paulo empty-handed.
Throughout his Formula 1 career, the seven-time world champion has won three times at Interlagos. And when Hamilton was formally named an honorary Brazilian citizen last year, his ties to racing in this region of the world only got stronger.
Many people in the grandstands will be rooting for Hamilton because Brazil isn’t sending any drivers to the competition this year. However, he will be happy to break a nearly two-year winless streak.
It has been 700 days since his last Formula One victory, which is on Sunday. He came very close to winning Mercedes’ only race of 2022 last year when George Russell beat him to the checkered flag, and he finished second in Mexico last week.
A week prior, Hamilton finished second in the US GP and trailed Verstappen by just a few seconds. Even though he was later disqualified, it gave him hope that, with the right preparation, he and the Mercedes team could pose a threat.
“I anticipate Red Bull will blitz it because their car is great,” he told reporters in Sao Paulo. “But if that is not the case, I will be ready to take the fight to them.
“If it can be anything like Austin and we can get our strategy better, than that would be incredible. I came away empty handed last season – I don’t plan on that this year.”
Mercedes have a narrows 22-point lead over Ferrari in the race to finish second in the constructors’ standings. And Hamilton still has a lot to play for in the drivers’ championship too, given he is now just 20 points adrift of the struggling Sergio Perez in the fight to finish as runner-up to runaway champion Verstappen.
There’s a chance for a closer match in 2024 because of the Silver Arrows’ improved performance, which has moved them closer to Red Bull. Hamilton, though, is still cautious: “I’ve been receiving messages from people saying, ‘It looks good,’ after the last few races.
“But I told them, ‘Well, we started this season 1.5 seconds behind, even though it was looking good at the end of last year.'” I’m not impressed with where we are at the moment. However, I am currently considering the long term while attempting to secure second place among the constructors in the near term.”
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