Sao Paulo 'hardest weekend I've had', says Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton was feeling on top of the world after pulling off a victory against all the odds in Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.

Hamilton came into the weekend knowing he would have to overcome a five place grid penalty for taking a new engine, but things got much worse when he was excluded from Friday's qualifying results for a technical infringement.

He had the opportunity to partially overcome that setback when he tore through the sprint qualifying race on Sunday which left him starting today's Grand Prix from tenth on the grid.

• Read also: Hamilton unstoppable in triumphant Sao Paulo victory

But with his chief title rival Max Verstappen taking the lead of the race at the first corner, it still seemed impossible that Hamilton would be able to claw back any points in the drivers championship battle.

In fact it took him just 20 laps to fight his way back to second place behind Verstappen, and the pair then had a battle royal before Hamilton forced his way into the lead with 13 laps remaining.

"That is how you overcome a 20 place disqualification!" a delighted Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said over the team radio on the cool down lap, with Hamilton cooly responding: "It was 25 [in total] - but you're right!"

"Coming into this weekend, I never ever thought that we would be able to close the gap like we have today," Hamilton admitted in the post-race interview in parc ferme. "These things, they just kept going against us.

"It really shows, for everyone, just never give up whatever you're facing. You have just got to keep pushing, keep tumbling away, keep fighting, and never, never stop fighting.

"That's really how I approached this week, and inspiration from all around," added Hamilton whose last race win was in September in Sochi.

"I don't feel like I have had a win for a long time," he admitted. "It feels like the first!"

"I was pushing. I was pushing as hard as I could, but from last on the grid and then another five place penalty was I think the hardest weekend I've had.

"But my dad reminded me of 2004, when I was in Formula 3 in Bahrain," he continued. "I started last and I finished 10th, then I finished first [in the second race]. So this one is for my dad."

There was controversy during the race when Hamilton was forced off track by Verstappen while trying to take the lead on lap 48. Surprisingly the FIA race stewards declined to investigate the incident - but it was no surprise to Hamilton.

"When they said they were going to investigate, I just knew the decision they were going to come to, whether it was right or wrong," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "I didn't let it faze me, I just kept racing."

However the stewards are now looking into reports that Hamilton loosened his seat belt on the cool-down lap.

Victory in today's race means that Hamilton has reduced Verstappen's lead in the driver championship to 14 points. Verstappen had previously taken two points from Saturday's sprint race, while Sergio Perez stole the bonus point for fastest lap at the end of the GP.

But with his team mate Valtteri Bottas finishing in third place ahead of Perez, Mercedes have opened the gap in the constructors standings to 11 points after coming into Sao Paulo with just one point in hand.

"The team did an amazing job. Valtteri did a great job today to get as many points as possible," Hamilton beamed.

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