Hamilton: Thrilling Brazil victory 'one of the easier' races of F1 career - MotorSportsTalk

Lewis Hamilton believes that his stunning victory in Sunday’s wet and wild Brazilian Grand Prix was “one of the easier ones” of his Formula 1 career as he kept his drivers’ championship hopes alive.

In a race that finished over three hours after it started and featured two red flag stoppages, Hamilton kept his cool to lead throughout en route to his 52nd career victory.

The result ensures that he heads to the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi in two weeks’ time still capable of winning a fourth world championship, with teammate Nico Rosberg’s lead now down to just 12 points.

Despite the dramatic nature of the race, Hamilton said that he remained relaxed up front throughout, suffering no real scares.

“For me I was generally just chilling up front. When it rains that’s usually a good day for me, and today was tricky for everyone,” Hamilton said. “There were definitely opportunities for aquaplaning, which everyone did.

“I want to say a big thank you to my team because we’re creating history in this team. This year, the stuff that we’ve done, the results that we’ve got, it’s just so incredible.

“It was kind of interesting to hear in the race how many people behind were spinning, but I didn’t have that problem so I’m very happy about it.”

When asked how the victory compared to his others, Hamilton said: “Probably one of the easier ones. It was a very easy race generally.

“Usually in the rain here it is the hardest, but I didn’t have any spins or any moments. It was pretty straightforward.”

Hamilton knows that a fourth straight victory in Abu Dhabi may not be enough to win the title, but he is refusing to back down in the fight against Rosberg.

“I’m hunting, I’m hunting. All I can do is do what I’m doing right now,” Hamilton said.

“The team is giving me a great car and finally the reliability is being really good, the results are really showing that. I’m going to go and give it all I’ve got, Abu Dhabi is generally a really good track for me.

“Right now I’m just going to live in the moment. This has been my dream since the first time I watched Ayrton [Senna] race. It’s the 44th grand prix here [44 being Hamilton’s car number] so it’s kind of a lucky weekend.”

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix takes place on November 27.

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The NTT IndyCar Series will head to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for its first oval race of the season and a preview of its biggest race.

After Sunday’s PPG 375 at Texas, the next oval on the schedule is May 28 with the 107th running of the Indy 500. Chip Ganassi Racing dominated last year’s 500-miler at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after placing all four of its Dallara-Hondas in the top 10 at Texas.

The Dallara-Chevrolets of Team Penske also will be heavy favorites at Texas. Josef Newgarden passed teammate Scott McLaughlin on the final lap for the victory last year as Penske took three of the top four (with defending series champion Will Power in fourth).

Texas marks the first of five oval races for IndyCar, which also will visit Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. There are 28 drivers entered for the 36th IndyCar race at Texas, the series’ most at the track since 30 in June 2011.

Scott Dixon has a series-high five victories at Texas, mostly recently in May 2021. Helio Castroneves (four wins), Newgarden (two) and Power (two) also are multiple winners at Texas.

Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the PPG 375 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway (all times are ET):

INDYCAR PPG 375 TEXAS START TIMES

TV: Sunday, noon ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe (whose first career IndyCar victory came at St. Petersburg 10 years ago).

Marty Snider and Dave Burns are the pit reporters. Telemundo Deportes on Universo will provide a Spanish-language telecast. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2023.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying and Indy NXT races. (Click here for information on how to sign up for Peacock.)

COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 12:10 p.m. ET

GREEN FLAG: 12:15 p.m. ET

POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after the race ends.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for practices and qualifying.

INDYCAR RADIO NETWORK: The IndyCar and Indy Lights races and all practices and qualifying sessions will air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the IndyCar app.

PRACTICE: Saturday sessions at 9 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. (Peacock Premium), 1:45 p.m.

PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II

QUALIFYING: Saturday, 12:15 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the grid at Texas

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 250 laps (375 miles) on a 1.5-mile oval in Fort Worth, Texas

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Eleven primary sets to be used during practice, qualifying and the race. An extra set will be available to cars in the high-line practice session.

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 67 degrees with a 71% chance of rain at the green flag.

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 28 cars entered