- Champion sent to back for DRS rule breach but comes fifth
- Title hopes still slim as five-place engine penalty will follow
Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One world championship hopes hung by the slenderest of threads after he was disqualified from Friday’s qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Yet with typical indomitable fortitude the world champion refused to accept his fate. He delivered an exceptional performance in Saturday’s sprint to give himself a chance to keep his title hopes alive at Interlagos and stay in touch with Max Verstappen.
F1 had scrupulously followed its rules in punishing Hamilton but it was impossible to ignore the sense of disappointment that accompanied the likelihood that the most exciting title fight for years might be decided in the stewards’ room rather than on the track. Hamilton described the decision as “devastating” but had no intention of throwing in the towel.
