Lewis Hamilton received praise from football legend Pele for his performance at the 2021 Brazil Grand Prix. The legendary footballer was grateful to the Briton for raising the Brazilian flag on the podium. Pele posed with a Brazilian football t-shirt on his social media with a message on it for the seven-time world champion.
Posting a picture of a t-shirt addressed to Lewis Hamilton, Pele's post caption said:
"A wonderful performance. A day as glorious for you, Lewis, as for us Brazilians. It's great to see an F1 driver raise our flag on the podium. Thank you for being who are you."
Lewis Hamilton had borrowed the Brazilian flag from a marshall on the race track. He waved it on his cooling lap, further carrying it for his podium celebration.
The Briton replied in the comments to Pele's post saying "thank you sir." Meanwhile, Mercedes reposted it, captioning it as 'greatness recognizes greatness'.
Lewis Hamilton surged from 10th place to claim victory at the Brazil Grand Prix 2021
Lewis Hamilton surged from the back of the grid to fifth in the sprint race and won the main race. This has earned him praise from several ex-F1 drivers, champions, the F1 fraternity and many others outside F1.
As the Mercedes driver hunts for his eighth title he is 14 points adrift of his title compatriot Max Verstappen in the Drivers Championship. Hamilton will have to claim at least one more win to equal his rival or grab the lead.
With three rounds left on the calendar, the title battle is expected to heat up. The next race is scheduled to be held at the Losail circuit in Qatar from November 19-21, 2021.