Hamilton heads to Brazil on a winning high

Reuters: Lewis Hamilton will say an emotional farewell to McLaren in Brazil next weekend as a winner, even if Formula One’s season-ending race is all about someone else taking the title.

The 2008 world champion had wanted to celebrate one last triumph before heading off to Mercedes and success in Sunday’s U.S. Grand Prix, should that be his last win for McLaren, ticked all the boxes.

The Briton had won on Formula One’s last visit to the States in 2007 and picking up where he left off meant a lot to a 27-year-old already spending an increasing amount of time in the country. Hamilton now heads to Interlagos, where he won his 2008 championship, for one last hurrah for a team he has been a part of since they started backing him as a promising 14-year-old.

“I think the last race in Brazil is going to be a really emotional sendoff for us all, team and driver and family,” his father Anthony said in Austin after joining the race winner for the team victory photograph. “The Hamiltons are synonymous with McLaren and vice-versa and I think we are all going to miss each other,” he told Sky television. “But to be honest I think it’s nice to go off to greener pastures and see whether you can develop something new in your life.” On Sunday McLaren gave Hamilton the car and he delivered sensationally, passing Red Bull’s championship leader Sebastian Vettel to take the win and deliver just the boost his team had been looking for.