Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton "unstoppable" - Ross Brawn

São Paulo Grand Prix

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Mercedes and Hamilton "unstoppable" - Brawn

Hamilton took his 101st grand prix victory in Brazil

Ewan Gale

Wednesday 17 November 2021 12:10

F1 managing director motorsports Ross Brawn labelled the Mercedes-Lewis Hamilton partnership as "unstoppable" after their performance at the São Paulo Grand Prix.

Hamilton dominated qualifying before being disqualified from the session after it was found his DRS had exceeded the maximum gap distance of 85mm when opened.

This left the Briton at the back of the pack for the 24-lap sprint, where he scythed through to fifth, before taking a five-place grid penalty for changing ICE.

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From tenth, Hamilton was up to third by lap five and after a stunning tussle with championship rival Max Verstappen, eventually took victory by over 10 seconds.

"Mercedes had a stunning car this weekend and when you get someone of Lewis’ calibre with a car like that, he’s unstoppable," wrote Brawn in his regular post-race column.

"I’ve seen Lewis do that several times and it’s impressive each time.

"He had a moment with Max, which everyone will have a different perspective on. There were no dramatic risks.

"He dealt with the setbacks of an engine change and his disqualification from qualifying clinically and it was by far the performance of the weekend.

"Racing drivers are brought up dealing with these challenges. From the beginning they get in a car, they know the way it works, they know the way the rules are.

"They must get used to the setbacks not all under their control. They can turn negatives into positives – and Lewis did just that this weekend."

Brawn hails return to Brazil

The weekend was Brazil's first since 2019 after an enforced lay-off due to Covid restrictions and the atmosphere at Interlagos was electrifying.

Paying tribute to the crowd, Brawn commented: "It was a fabulous weekend from beginning to end and gave us the sort of drama, intrigue and excitement that only F1 can deliver.

"It’s a sport of technology and of gladiatorial battles between drivers. We had everything this weekend.

"The crowd at Interlagos were sensational. Lewis is a disciple of Ayrton Senna and that touched the crowd in Brazil.

"They have made him one of their own, a hero for them to cheer. It was inspiring to see them share their passion and it created an incredible atmosphere."