Good news for Mercedes in F1. After the five-place penalty in the Grand Prix for Lewis Hamilton due to modifications to the car, the British driver set the fastest time in the qualifying session for the Saturday, November 13 sprint race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Brazil. The 36-year-old driver set a record time of 1:07.934, surpassing the achievement of Max Verstappen from Red Bull (1:08.372) and his teammate Valtteri Bottas (1:08.469).
After the test, Hamilton spoke with the Formula 1 press and felt very happy with what he accomplished in São Paulo. "Today has been a very good qualifying session. I'm very happy with it. I don't know what tomorrow holds. I feel very grateful, it's crazy because it's been a while, so it feels like the first time," he said.
Lewis Hamilton fights for his eighth Formula 1 title. Photo: EFE.
The seven-time world champion is 19 points behind Verstappen, with only four races left in the 2021 season, which is why he must score as many points as possible to become the all-time winner in this automotive category.
YOU CAN SEE: Sergio Pérez makes history by finishing third in the Mexican Grand Prix of Formula 1
On the other hand, the Red Bull driver remained calm about the result and joked about the engine change made to Lewis' car. "When they get a new engine, naturally, they have a little more power for the weekend, so it's not a big surprise to me. I'm happy to be second," he commented.
This is how the Formula 1 qualifying session ended on Friday. Photo: F1.