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After the Brazil Grand Prix sprint race, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton relayed an inspiring radio message to his team, rivals and fans. After having his qualifying time disqualified ahead of the sprint, the reigning world champion surged from 20th to fifth in 24 laps.
Speaking to his engineer Peter Bonington, Lewis Hamilton said:
"It's not over yet."
The seven-time world champion was reportedly "devastated" over the disqualification, according to his team boss Toto Wolff.
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Lewis Hamilton's pole position for the sprint race was disallowed for a technical infringement of permitted norms on his rear-wing element. At a circuit where he displayed exceptional form after fitting a new engine in his car, the existing five-place penalty for the main race had already put him on the backfoot. As such, nailing the sprint race was critical.
Lewis Hamilton to start Brazil Grand Prix from 10th on grid
Speaking to F1.com after the sprint race, Lewis Hamilton described the feeling under the helmet by saying:
"Really, it was just the mental state of mind that I went into, which was just 'never give up, keep pushing, still I rise, you can do this'"
His radio message after the sprint race was a clear message that he wouldn't back out of the title fight. Describing his feelings about the penalty and looking forward to the main race, Lewis Hamilton said:
"It was really difficult to swallow the result that we got [the penalty] but we won’t let that hold us back. Now I’ve got to start focusing on tomorrow. I’ll give it everything. It’s a much longer race tomorrow, so hopefully, we can get further."
Starting 10th on the grid for the main race, Lewis Hamilton will have to put on another charge through the field if he is to reduce the 21-point deficit to Max Verstappen.
A free choice of tires to start with might make his job of cutting through the field a bit easier, but it comes with the risk of getting caught up in opening lap incidents and having to compromise pit-stop strategies.
