“That is not his style” – Ross Brawn is mightily impressed with Lewis Hamilton after the Mercedes driver took the podium at Abu Dhabi, despite only recently recovering from Covid-19.
Lewis Hamilton had been replaced by George Russell at Mercedes for the Sakhir GP after he tested positive for Covid-19. It was expected that Hamilton will also miss the season-finale at Abu Dhabi, allowing Russell one more shot with the W11.
Russell even attended the Media Day on Thursday representing Mercedes, but that was the last of it. Lewis Hamilton recovered in time to race for his team and snatch a podium place. Ross Brawn, MD of Formula 1, paid tribute to the driver and his passion for the sport.
“Lewis was a touch under the weather this weekend, but he did everything he could to be fit enough to race. With the title won, he could easily have taken the race off, as we’ve seen how hard Covid-19 can hit you, but that is not his style. Lewis showed his passion for the sport by pushing through when unwell and it was an impressive effort to make the podium.”
Ross Brawn excited for Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen battle next season
Brawn also expressed optimism about Mercedes getting a real fight from Red Bull next season after Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Red Bull improved as the season went by, and with the cars not changing dramatically, it could be a much closer fight next season.
“It was great to see Red Bull and Max Verstappen win on merit and the result can give us some optimism that there will be more great battles at the front next year, especially as the cars aren’t changing that much.”
“What is encouraging is if you think back to the beginning of the year, Mercedes had a big advantage but over the course of the season Red Bull has been chipping away at that. The RB16 didn’t work but they got it sorted.”
