Lewis Hamilton reveals where Mercedes found its extra speed to dominate over Red Bull in the last two races to level the championship.
After his recent win in Qatar, Lewis Hamilton keeps him only eight points away from Max Verstappen in the championship standings. The straight-line speed by the Briton was unmatchable in Brazil.
And even though in Qatar, Hamilton was using the engine which he used before Brazil. He looked as dominant as before, but it left everyone wondering where he was delivering so much power if he wasn’t using his Brazil engine.
A great win for our first time in Qatar. #TEAMLH you keep us going, we keep pushing and we feel your energy more than ever. It’s been one hell of a year but I love this battle. Getting right back to work, focused and ready for the final two races. We win & we lose together. pic.twitter.com/sGHFwBcV8c
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) November 21, 2021
“I think, as the year’s gone on, we’ve understood the car more,” he said to the media after the race. “[We’ve] definitely been able to squeeze more performance out of the package without bringing any upgrades – we’ve not had an upgrade since Silverstone.”
“It’s been quite phenomenal to see the small bits and the increments that we’ve been improving. It’s very close between the two cars clearly, so I think that lines us up for a great battle.”
“In these last two [races], I think we’ve just been able to do a better job overall. And I hope that we can take this form into the next two.”
Also read: Mercedes trackside engineer says he isn’t sure how the Briton was so far ahead in Qatar
Lewis Hamilton with peak fitness
By the end of the 2020 season, Hamilton contracted COVID-19, which brought him several post-effects, which continued in the middle of the 2021 season. Now, Hamilton claims he is feeling at his best, unlike at the start of the season.
“I feel great. I feel in the best shape physically that I’ve been all year,” Hamilton commented. “Obviously, at the beginning of the year, [I was] not particularly that well. [But] I feel great [and] the car is feeling better than ever.
“I feel positive going into these next couple of races. I think they should be quite good for our car, so I’m looking forward to that battle.”
