It was an impressive recovery race for seven times F1 World Champion Hamilton, who secured his fifth seasonal podium for the first Mercedes 1-2 of 2024 at the Las Vegas GP.
Starting from P10, Hamilton managed to fight his way up to the podium, following tough wheel-to-wheel duels with Hülkenberg, Tsunoda and Piastri, entering the top 5 after only 10 laps.
His strong pace allowed him to get by the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc as he undercut them at the second round of stops.
Fun day at the office
Hamilton commented his rather positive day in the post race press conference, pleased with the great pace displayed: “I had a great time. When you’re progressing and moving forward, it’s always a great feeling. It felt very much like my old days at Rye House, starting at the back and coming through, so it was great.”
The British driver stated that he had the best feeling with his W15 he’s had in a while, which could be even better than the car he had led to two wins in three races earlier in the season:
“Honestly, I don’t really remember it. Best of recent [times], of course. We got a really good balance in the car today. It felt a lot better than it was yesterday, particularly Q3 yesterday, but yeah, just phenomenal for the team.”
Impressive recovery
Yesterday’s final qualifying segment had been tough for the soon to be Ferrari driver, who didn’t manage to set a timed lap because of heavy lock-up on his first lap and running straight at turn 3 on his second attempt.
Asked whether a win could have been in the cards had he started a bit further up the grid, Hamilton eluded the question and credited Russell for the job he did.
“It doesn’t really matter, really, does it? At the end of the day, George did a great job, did everything he was supposed to do and I’m happy for him and I’m just grateful I could get back up there to support the team with a 1-2.”
Not as optimistic about Qatar
He doesn’t share his teammate George Russell’s strong optimism on the upcoming Qatar round, but does reckon there could be the potential to secure a positive result.
“I have no idea. I mean, I don’t think anyone in the team knows why we were as quick as we were this weekend, and everyone will be happy about it. But, I think, often in the hotter conditions, we struggle more.
“Maybe Qatar is not so bad because it’s a little bit cooler there, and the track is very smooth. So maybe we’ll not be too bad at that track, I think we were OK there last year. Abu Dhabi, maybe less so. But we’ll see.”
Mental strength
The Las Vegas F1 GP was an important round to do well for Hamilton, as a late farewell gift to Mercedes after eleven seasons as well as a confidence boost following seven races not on the podium.
The experienced driver opened up a bit more about his feelings on the matter, admitting he had a lot of fun while making his way up to the podium.
“Yeah, great, great performance. It’s not that I didn’t think I could do it. I’ve had many races like this, but I’m generally happy to have had the recovery. You know, it’s a new day and I just tried to approach it with a positive mindset.
“To be able to have a car underneath me today, and be able to push and overtake people was such a great feeling. That was honestly one of the most enjoyable races.
“Yeah, if I’d started pole and just led the way, wouldn’t have felt as much fun, for sure.
“Of course, winning a Grand Prix is always a great thing, but when whoever it is faces adversity and has to battle through, it just feels so much better when you do succeed,” he concluded.
