Hamilton unleashed “superhero powers” after F1 adversity - Wolff

Back-to-back victories in Brazil and Qatar have helped Hamilton shift momentum in the 2021 F1 title fight and cut the gap to his championship rival Max Verstappen down to eight points with two races remaining. 

Hamilton was disqualified from qualifying at Interlagos following a technical infringement but fought his way through the field in the sprint and grand prix to claim a stunning comeback win. 

And Mercedes team principal Wolff says Hamilton has been spurred on by the setback he faced in Brazil to raise his game even further. 

“They have woken up the lion on the Saturday at Interlagos,” Wolff said.

“He is absolutely on it. Brutal. And cold-blooded. This is the best in Lewis, and we have seen it in the past and he is right there. 

“I think when adversity happens, then it takes him to a place where he is able to mobilise superhero powers. 

“And it was the adversity that triggered that at Interlagos.”

Hamilton took a comfortable lights-to-flag victory at the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix after Verstappen was hit with a five-place grid penalty for ignoring double-waved yellow flags in qualifying. 

After scoring his seventh win of the season, Hamilton can ensure that the title fight will go down to the Abu Dhabi finale if he finishes ahead of Verstappen in Saudi Arabia.

“The race was made a lot easier with the penalties that the guys obviously got for the mistake they made,” Hamilton admitted. 

"That made it a lot more straightforward and yeah, I was just managing the gap at the front and just keeping the car safe and trying to maximise and bring the car home. 

“I was feeling strong. I think they [Red Bull] had relatively decent pace, but I was able to manage the pace, so it was no problem.”