Lewis Hamilton has won his third Formula One race in a row and sounded utterly thrilled about it on his team radio afterwards.
Maybe he was aware that the win took him second on the all-time list for F1 wins, behind only Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton kept his cool in a marathon race which was suspended on two occasions and took more than three hours to complete as persistent rain wreaked havoc in Sao Paulo – eventually though, the Brit coasted to victory.
Absolutely breathtaking stuff from @LewisHamilton...
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 13, 2016
He's sailing off into the distance... quite literally! #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/nPMaijBj9V
Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen made up the rest of the podium.
Conditions were dangerous throughout the race, with Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen among the drivers unable to finish – with Raikkonen’s crash being particularly scary.
But Hamilton’s win means that Rosberg will have to wait until the final race of the season, in Abu Dhabi in a couple of weeks’ time, to claim the championship. If the Brit wins again then Rosberg cannot afford to finish lower than third, with Hamilton 12 points behind.
“I was generally just chilling at the front… When it rains it’s usually a good day for me,” Hamilton said. “I’m hunting, all I can do is do what I’m doing right now.”
“It was very difficult conditions out there and I can accept second position today for sure,” Rosberg added.
Congrats Hamilton at finally winning the #BrazilGP!!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
— Matt Gallagher (@xMattyG) November 13, 2016
Another great drive by @LewisHamilton - and the championship runs until #AbuDhabiGP! #F1 #BrazilGP
— Yas Marina Circuit (@ymcofficial) November 13, 2016
Awesome @LewisHamilton really is King in the rain. Finally wins at Interlagos welldone champ bossed it @MercedesAMGF1 #BrazilGP 🏁
— Natalie May (@NatalieMayyx) November 13, 2016
The win will mean a lot to Hamilton given it was his first in the country of his hero, Ayrton Senna.
That was the best and the worst race of 2016. Work that out! #F1 #BrazilGP Well done @LewisHamilton for 1st win in Senna homeland.
— Damon Hill (@HillF1) November 13, 2016
Despite the ease with which the three-time champion won, Verstappen was the talk of the race having overtaken Rosberg early on before dropping down to ninth after stoppages and pitting, and then climbing his way back up to third at the very end.
Max Verstappen is a special talent. Shades of Michael Schumacher today. Wow. What a charge up the order. #F1 #BrazilGP
— Ayaz (@sahyder1) November 13, 2016
Max Verstappen is a beast......he just rescued this race from a fan's point of view. #BrazilGP
— Big Sam. (@emong_samson) November 13, 2016
Forget the Spanish Grand Prix. THIS is the defining drive of Max Verstappen's early career, the one people will always remember #BrazilGP
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) November 13, 2016
Max Verstappen is quite an exquisite driver. Only a matter of time before he's challenging for a world title. #BrazilGP
— Chris Robson (@crobson17) November 13, 2016
Going to say it - Verstappen's drive was probably the best in the last 5 seasons. Absolutely stunning. #BrazilGP #F1
— Badger GP (@BadgerGP) November 13, 2016
In between all that the 19-year-old almost crashed, but saved his spinning car and was even laughing about it on the radio afterwards.
This is why: #Max #Verstappen, the new Ayrton Senna.pic.twitter.com/BtedKIVwHc#BrazilGP #F1 #MaxVerstappen
— Merijn© (@MerijnAAA) November 13, 2016
He’s certainly won a lot of new fans.
Well that happened... 😳🇧🇷👏 @Max33Verstappen #givesyouwings #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/BPl3JP45hs
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 13, 2016
Roll on Abu Dhabi!
