Fresh off his best weekend of the 2024 season so far, Lewis Hamilton makes a big claim about his team Mercedes’ standing on the grid. Despite finishing nearly 18 seconds behind race-winner Max Verstappen, Hamilton feels that the gap to the top two teams isn’t as huge as it seems on paper.
Quoted by Racer, Hamilton (who finished P3 in Barcelona), spoke about being closer to Verstappen and Lando Norris if he had a better start. It would have made his job in the initial stages much easier.
“I think ultimately, with a better start, we would have… I don’t know if we could have really held on to the guys ahead, but I don’t think we would have been as far behind as we are today.”
Hamilton’s optimism stems from Mercedes’ progress in the last few races. When the season began, the Silver Arrows were nowhere near challenging the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull, or McLaren. They were 40 seconds (on average) behind the race leaders in the first five races, but from the Miami GP onwards, things started changing.
LEWIS HAMILTON WHAT A GOATED MOVE pic.twitter.com/VHHZ8VJQsk
— eri (@hamxnda) June 23, 2024
Hamilton finished P6 in Miami, 16 seconds behind winner Norris, which was taken as a positive sign for the team and rightly so. Since then, the gap to the front has continually gone down.
Russell secured a P3 finish in Canada which was Mercedes’ first top-three finish of the year. Now, Hamilton’s P3 finish in Barcelona will make them more bullish about their chances of fighting at the front for the rest of the season.
The race in Barcelona brought glad tidings for Lewis Hamilton and his team
The Spanish GP has long been one of the most crucial races on the F1 calendar. The Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona’s layout allows teams to use the track in a ‘wind-tunnel-esque’ manner, owing to the aerodynamic feedback they can get from it. It allows them to run under optimal conditions in a racing environment.
Great result for the team, onto the next ~ pic.twitter.com/byJWJY1NU8
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 23, 2024
Given Mercedes’ positive performance throughout the weekend in Barcelona, confidence would be brimming at the Brackley-based outfit. Not just Hamilton, but Russell drove a brilliant race too, finishing P4, where he started from. It was a clear indicator that with further improvements, the Mercedes W15 is capable of doing much more.
With Mercedes entering the mix for silverware now, the Constructors’ Championship could become a four-way battle. And with Mercedes nearing resurgence, there could soon be a fourth team to win a Grand Prix this season.
