Emotions Fire But Brazil Still Tough To Crack For Hamilton, Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton makes an emotional return to the scene of his greatest early-career pain and joy this weekend when he leads Mercedes' bid to seal a fifth consecutive constructors' world championship.

Sao Paulo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Nov, 2018 ) :Lewis Hamilton makes an emotional return to the scene of his greatest early-career pain and joy this weekend when he leads Mercedes' bid to seal a fifth consecutive constructors' world championship.

The 33-year-old Briton, who secured his fifth drivers' title in Mexico two weeks ago, missed out on winning the championship in Brazil in his rookie season of 2007, but went back to grab his maiden title in dramatic fashion in 2008.

That triumph, earned with a last-lap pass that lifted him to fifth in teeming rain, has since become an iconic snapshot which confirmed his potential and fired him to multiple-title glory.

Yet as he returns to the demanding Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, in the Interlagos district of Sao Paulo, for the 12th time, he will know he and his team face another major challenge.

In his previous 11 visits, Hamilton has won only once and taken pole only twice - a moderate record for arguably the sport's fastest qualifying driver.

His Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas has one pole and one podium finish from five starts in the sprawling and tumbling semi-bowl where a packed crowd generates a carnival mood.

Both know, too, that rivals Ferrari, whose record of six teams' titles from 1999 to 2004 may be under threat, enjoyed a resurgence in Texas and Mexico that saw them out-perform Mercedes, restricting their advantage to 55 points with two races remaining.

"We have a battle on our hands for the constructors' title and we have lost ground to Ferrari in each of the past race weekends. Even though we had the base performance to do better," said Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff.

"This is the moment to keep our feet on the ground, focus clearly on the objective and trust in our processes and people to deliver."