Magazine: Hamilton's charge at F1's Brazilian GP

Just when you think the Formula 1 title fight has finally settled into a pattern and Max Verstappen is putting some daylight between himself and Hamilton in the points, we get a race like the one at Interlagos.

The first shock of the weekend in Brazil was the pace of Mercedes. Off the back of one of Red Bull’s most dominant 2021 performances in Mexico and at a venue Verstappen has been victorious before, Hamilton topped qualifying by 0.4 seconds.

Then, as Luke Smith explains, both championship protagonists fell foul of officialdom, Hamilton much more so. His charge past 15 cars in the sprint contest was superb but he still had to start the GP 10th thanks to the change of his Mercedes powerplant.

That engine then helped Hamilton pull off a remarkable recovery, as Alex Kalinauckas shows in our race report. It means the title fight is very much on with three rounds to go, two of which are at new venues for F1.

There’s only one event remaining in the World Rally Championship and Tom Howard looks ahead to the Monza finale that will either provide Sebastien Ogier with an eighth title in his final full season or make Elfyn Evans the third Briton to take the crown.

We’ve also got reports from around the UK and international motorsport, including Petit Le Mans and the final round of the MotoGP season, in which Valentino Rossi made his emotional final appearance in the world championship.

The finalists in the 2021 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award are currently in the middle of their long wait until 19 December to find out who will win £200,000. In the meantime, we explain the extensive testing process with the help of guest judge and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti and F1 title-winning designer/engineer Mark Williams.

BBM Sport provided a Ginetta LMP3 car for the competition and Gary Watkins speaks to experienced racer and team boss Bob Berridge about how the company got started and what it’s doing now.

One of the Award finalists is Zak O’Sullivan, who won the GB3 title. Stefan Mackley reviews the campaign, while James Newbold explains how the British GT crown was settled and ranks the top drivers.

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