Even After Securing Five Podiums, Lewis Hamilton Doesn’t Think Mercedes Is Even Third-Fastest Team on the Grid

Lewis Hamilton has recently claimed that Mercedes isn’t in the top three regarding pace despite formidable results off late and P2 in the constructors’ standings. Even after the respectable results at Silverstone, where Hamilton picked up a podium, and his teammate George Russell finished in P5, the Mercedes star doesn’t think the Silver Arrows is even third fastest on the grid.

Admittedly, McLaren sparked new competition in the already crowded battle for supremacy after Red Bull. As the Woking-based team has picked up P2 and P3 in the qualification and then P2 and P4 in the main race, they are the latest team to be on Silver Arrows’ back, along with Aston Martin and Ferrari.

The W14s failed to match multiple cars on the grid on multiple occasions, leaving out the Red Bull, who are already untouchable for everyone. This might be why the British driver is reluctant to call themselves the second fastest—or even the third fastest despite having five podiums and P2 in the Constructors’ championship.

Hamilton mentions the chief Mercedes rivals

Following the conclusion of the race, Lewis Hamilton approached the media for a post-race interview. There he opened up on the teams he thinks can potentially be dangerous for the Brackley brigade. Along with Ferrari, the newly added McLaren got their place in Hamilton’s book.

Talking about this to F1’s Lawrence Barretto, the seven-time world champion said, “I think McLaren are a serious threat. I think we dropped down to Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, and us I think, at outright speed. I think we are kind of the fourth fastest.”

Lewis makes it a double-British podium! 🤝

It’s his FOURTEENTH podium at Silverstone 🤯#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/hsoNc44LJZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 9, 2023

However, on a positive note, the British driver no longer sees Aston Martin and his arch-rival Fernando Alonso as a threat anymore after their series of poor runs. This indeed is a good thing for him as he is inching closer to P3 in the drivers’ championship.

Aston Martin fell behind Mercedes

At one point, the Green team looked to be the second-fastest team on the grid after back-to-back podiums by the Spanish driver. However, the recent performances showed a drastic dip in that.

With Lance Stroll failing to do the bare minimum to keep the British team active for P2 in the Constructors’ championships, rivals are closing in fast. After the poor run at Red Bull Ring, where Alonso and Stroll fared P5 and P9, the British GP was even worse.

Notably, Alonso thought Sunday’s race was identical to that of 2022, and he picked the only points for the Silverstone team with P7. Whereas Stroll finished in P14, allowing Silver Arrows to increase their P2 lead over them. But in the end, the 41-year-old hopes to turn this around and believes in his team for the season ahead.