A top-3 that was missing from Mexico 2023
Lewis Hamilton he broke his abstinence from podiums in F1 by completing what was ultimately an excellent weekend in Barcelona for the seven-time world champion with a solid race. Hamilton set the third fastest time in Qualifying and confirmed his position in the race by taking it back from his teammate George Russell, taking advantage of better tire management which led him to use the soft tire in the third and final stint unlike the hard one mounted by Russell.
“I should have been on the podium already in Canada – declared Hamilton in the ring dedicated to post-race interviews in reference to the fact that in Montreal he was the one who had the least performing hard tires at the end of the race against Russell’s mediums – and I’m happy to have succeeded here especially because I was very fast in terms of pace. We are growing, there is no doubt about it, however, we do not yet have what it takes to compete with Verstappen and Norris, we still need something in terms of performance, but it is certainly positive to have been fighting for the podium again as we are already happened in Canada.”
During the race Hamilton also passed Carlos Sainz on the inside in Turn-1, a maneuver about which the Spaniard complained over the radio given that on paper Hamilton was not perfectly paired with Sainz at the moment of contact between the two.
The Mercedes driver commented on the episode in the press conference struggling to hide his amazement for Sainz’s point of view: “He left some space inside and I slipped in, I in turn left him space when changing direction. We touched, but not much, it was a good battle, but I understand it’s never nice to be overtaken.”
