First Brazilian win a surreal dream - Hamilton

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton said it will take a while for him to fully appreciate the significance of his first win on Brazilian soil - one that moves him ahead of Alain Prost and into second place on the all-time F1 wins list.

Hamilton dominated across the Sao Paulo weekend, and converted pole into a victory he subsequently described as ‘easy' despite the treacherous wet conditions. The win not only keeps his title hopes alive, it also ends a ten-year wait for glory on the home soil of his childhood hero Ayrton Senna.

"It's been a long time coming but it was well worth the wait, definitely," the Briton reflected afterwards. "This has been the dream to win here since I was about six and watching F1: I saw Ayrton win here and I was like ‘I want to be in that position, I want to do that'.

"Unfortunately these experiences feel very surreal and it probably won't kick in until later - the sheer scale of it is hard to imagine right now."

Having moved to 52 F1 wins, one ahead of Prost and now only behind Michael Schumacher on 91, Hamilton added: "It's crazy when you grew up watching the Grands Prix on your couch eating bacon sandwiches, and one day you're there with more wins than Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. It doesn't seem real."

Although the tricky conditions made for a wild and relentlessly dramatic race, the reigning champion said he had been ‘chilling' out front, and that it had proved far easier than a similarly wet and memorable race on his own home soil in 2008.

"It was a very easy race," he said. "Probably one of the easier ones. I didn't have any spins or moments, it was pretty straightforward. Silverstone 2008 was way harder than this."

Victory moves Hamilton to within 12 points of team mate Nico Rosberg in the title fight. The pair have now won nine races apiece this season - but even if Hamilton triumphs in the Abu Dhabi finale, Rosberg can guarantee himself a historic first championship crown by finishing on the podium.