It’s not where you start, but where you finish. This epitomizes Lewis Hamilton’s career. He was the lone black boy in karting and now he is the lone black man in Formula 1 racing. He didn’t have a lot of advantages. His only advantage in his early career was his amazing talent. Talent and hard work carried him thru the hard times, and he was noticed by top tier teams. His talent and hard work secured a championship with McLaren and six championships with Mercedes. It remains to be seen if he can secure his eighth overall championship this year.
This weekend was filled with drama. Max Verstappen is handed a hefty fine for touching Hamilton’s rear wing. Hamilton is given a five-grid penalty for changing his engine. However, the supposed death nell to this weekend’s efforts was the disqualification from qualification of Hamilton for having an unauthorized modification to his DRS system which allowed the wing to open wider than is regulatorily allowed. So, Hamilton started in 20th position for the Sprint Race. He started in 20th knowing that whatever position he secured in the Sprint would be knocked down five more places due to the new engine.
Instead of bemoaning his handicapped situation, Hamilton rolled up the proverbial sleeves and get to work. Hamilton got after it in the Sprint race. He stormed thru the field and secured a fifth-place finish on Saturday in just 24 laps. That Mercedes engine was strong this weekend and Hamilton hung it out on the ragged edge.
Turn one, lap one is usually the most entertaining turn in the whole race. It really sets the tone for the rest of the race. As they raced to the first turn, Verstappen edged Valterri Bottas for the lead. Later on, in the lap Sergio Perez forced Bottas wide to jump into 2nd place. Before getting into turn one Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris bumped tires causing Norris’s McLaren to puncture a tire forcing him to last place. Meanwhile, further back in the field Lewis Hamilton moved from tenth to sixth with 70 laps to go.
The race really began to hit up in lap 48. Hamilton and Verstappen had executed their last pit stops of the race. Both had switched to the hard tire. Finding the right tire for this race was difficult because there was a 25-degree temperature hike from Saturday to Sunday. The mediums and softs were getting eaten up quick. Verstappen was holding a lead but not by much. In the middle of lap 48, Hamilton eased up on Verstappen and was side by side going into turn 15 when Verstappen allegedly pushed Hamilton wide and off the track. There was no investigation and the racing stewards just deemed it good racing. In lap 58 Verstappen successfully fended off Hamilton from another overtake. However, in lap 59, Hamilton finally passed Verstappen and never looked back.
The other notable driver performance in this race was Lando Norris. After lap one, Lando dropped from fifth place to 20th. He ended up finishing in 10th place at the end of the race.
Every time Lewis Hamilton steps into the cockpit of his ride, he makes history. On Sunday he secured his 101 first win. Hamilton’s results this weekend is legendary. Late in his career he goes from last to first against all the odds. Will Hamilton close the 14-point gap between him and Verstappen with three races to go? We will keep watching with intense curiosity, admire the history he is making and appreciate the gift that we have in watching the greatest to ever do it.