By Alan Baldwin
(Reuters) – Once-dominant Mercedes return to Brazil this weekend for a last chance to avoid going a whole year without a Formula One victory.
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, who last won a race in 2021, and team mate George Russell go into the final sprint weekend of the season with some optimism even if Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is on a record roll.
Russell won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Nov. 13 last year for his first victory in F1 — a one-two with Hamilton after the pair also locked out the front row at Interlagos. Russell also won the Saturday sprint.
Hamilton has been second on track in the last two races, even if disqualified in Texas, with a car that looks increasingly competitive in race trim.
“We go there knowing we have a good car and if we put all the ducks in a row then we can have a very strong weekend,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff ahead of the last leg of a triple-header.
Hamilton is also an honorary Brazilian, with plenty of local support in a country without an F1 driver of their own, and a three-times winner at Interlagos.
The circuit hosted the first Brazilian Grand Prix 50 years ago and Mercedes have won there for the past two years and six times in the last eight.
“I think hopefully these next couple of races will be close,” said Hamilton, while recognising Verstappen’s continuing dominance: “I’d probably put money on it that he’d get to 18, 19 (wins), with that car.”
Verstappen chalked up his 16th win of the season in Mexico last Sunday, one more than the previous record he set last year, and equalled Alain Prost’s 51 career victories.
He will again start as the favourite and another win this weekend would leave him a solo fourth in the all-time win lists and one away from matching four-times champion Sebastien Vettel’s career haul of 53.
“We are confident going into this weekend but need to keep our focus. It’s crazy to have achieved 16 wins so far this season,” said the Dutch driver.
Mexican team mate Sergio Perez will be under pressure to perform strongly after crashing out on the opening lap of his home race last Sunday but that nightmare is also motivation.
“Mexico was devastating for me but in this sport these things happen, and you can’t afford to keep going over what could have been,” he said.
“I wanted to win my home race more than anything but that is gone now and my full focus is on finishing second in the Championship. We need to have a great weekend in Brazil and I feel confident in our ability to get results right now.”
Perez is just 20 points clear of Hamilton in that battle for second place, with Red Bull and Verstappen having already secured both titles.
McLaren and Ferrari will also be hoping to be in the mix for podium places.
“It’s a sprint race. We’ve been pretty good at sprint races this season,” said Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who has been on pole at the last two races and finished third in Mexico with team mate Carlos Sainz fourth.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
