Spa [Belgium], August 1 : Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton who finished the Belgian Grand Prix in fourth position which is a great result for his team Mercedes which is having a slow car this season.
In a recent interview, Lewis Hamilton said, they got the fastest lap at the end which is great.
On Sunday, Hamilton qualified fourth but moved up a spot after Max Verstappen took a five-place grid drop for the race. And after surviving a close three-wide moment with Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri at Turn 1 on the opening lap, he settled into third.
Verstappen then made his way past, leaving Hamilton to battle Charles Leclerc for the final podium position. However, the Mercedes driver could not quite get close enough, with the team opting to pit him at the end of the race to take the fastest lap as the seven-time champion accepted fourth place.
According to the Formula 1 website Lewis Hamilton said, "We got some good points; we got the fastest lap at the end which is great. And lots of consistent points finish for us as a team. We’ve made big, big strides as a team, we've just got to keep working away.”
Asked if he was satisfied with his Sunday at Spa, Hamilton replied, “Yeah, started third but went backwards one place, but we expected Max to come flying by at some stage. [Red Bull] were eight-tenths to a second faster than everybody today, per lap, so not really in the same race.
Hamilton said, “I think everyone is relieved they are going to get a break soon. It’s hard to assess – everyone is just head down, trying to work and trying to improve. Everyone is just pumped, just driven.”
Russell, on the other hand, admitted the summer break had come at a good time for him after struggling for much of the weekend. However, he believed that had it not been for some misfortune on the opening lap, he would have been fifth instead of sixth.
Assessing his race, Russell said: “It was alright. I was very unfortunate at the beginning. I made a really strong start, and then I saw Oscar [Piastri going slowly]. I thought it was a puncture, but didn’t realise he’d lost his steering."
He concluded: “And from my own personal side, just a really challenging weekend. The [summer] break is coming at a good point. As a team happy with some good points on the board, opening that gap to P3 in the team’s championship. But we're still eyes on Red Bull and clearly, we have a lot of work to do.”
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