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Verstappen finished second with Valtteri Bottas third for
Mercedes after a controversial, roller-coaster weekend in
Brazil.
"I don't remember another weekend like this," said Hamilton, his
dream of a record eighth title back on with three races
remaining. "It's quite overwhelming, to be honest."
"This has been probably one of the best weekends, if not the
best weekend, that I have experienced since ... probably in my
whole career."
The Briton was fastest in Friday qualifying at Interlagos for
Saturday's sprint that set Sunday's grid, and then demoted to
the back of the field after his car's rear wing failed a
technical inspection.
He went from 20th to fifth on Saturday, dropping back to 10th on
Sunday's grid after an engine penalty but hungry for much more.
The rest was history as the 36-year-old took his third win at
Interlagos and set a record for victory in Brazil from the
lowest grid position, beating Italian Giancarlo Fisichella's
2003 win from eighth.
"Lewis, that's how you overcome a 20-place disqualification,"
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told him over the radio after he
took the chequered flag in front of a cheering crowd.
"It was actually 25, but you're right," replied Hamilton.
The win was Hamilton's sixth of the season and record-extending
101st of his career.
"That was one of the best drives I've ever seen in F1. By
anyone. Utterly awesome," commented 1996 world champion Damon
Hill on Twitter.
"I feel like Lewis was in his own league today," said Bottas.
Red Bull's Sergio Perez finished fourth, pitting at the end for
fresh tyres to set the fastest lap and deny Hamilton a precious
bonus point.
Mercedes moved 11 points clear of Red Bull in the constructors'
standings.
WHEEL-TO-WHEEL
Bottas had started on pole but lost out to Verstappen into the
first corner and then to Perez while Hamilton was already up to
seventh.
The reigning champion was third by lap five, with Bottas letting
him through as expected.
The 3.5 second gap to Perez was closed a lap later when the
safety car was deployed after a clash between AlphaTauri's Yuki
Tsunoda and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll left debris strewn
across the track.
Perez was then passed on lap 18, after a further virtual safety
car period when the front wing on Mick Schumacher's Haas
detached and left more debris.
Then it was game on, with Hamilton pitting before Verstappen and
cutting the gap.
The Dutch 24-year-old was determined not to be undercut again
and jumped first for the second stop on lap 41 with Hamilton
coming in three laps later and then closing in with the
advantage of fresher tyres and a newer engine.
Both battled wheel-to-wheel on lap 48, Verstappen defending
hard.
Hamilton got ahead but Verstappen closed him out and both cars
ran wide, Mercedes complaining their man was pushed off
unfairly, with the stewards ultimately deciding to take no
further action.
Hamilton tried again before making the move stick third time
around while marshals waved a black and white flag at Verstappen
for weaving on the straight, drawing a sarcastic response:
"Yeah, perfect. Say hi".
GOOD BATTLE
"It was a good battle but at the end we just missed a little bit
of pace. We gave it our all today, it was a lot of fun," said
Verstappen.
"We still have a good points lead. Today was a bit of damage
limitation on a weekend that was difficult for us. I'm confident
that the coming races we will bounce back."
Two of the remaining three are circuits new to F1 -- Qatar and
Saudi Arabia -- before the finale in Abu Dhabi.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished fifth with team mate Carlos
Sainz sixth.
AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly was seventh, ahead of the Alpine
pairing of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Lando Norris took
the final point for McLaren despite a puncture on the opening
lap.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo retired his McLaren after a loss of
power.
(Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Nick Macfie and
Ken Ferris)
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