Lewis Hamilton is on a mission to redeem himself on the F1 grid. He had a great time in Australia as he earned his 192nd podium finish. However, the Mercedes car is not yet producing any satisfactory results. Mercedes is third in the constructor’s title standings. Lewis Hamilton is fourth in the driver’s championship standings. The seven-time champion is looking forward to closing the gap between him and Max Verstappen. But Hamilton knows that the main race in Baku, Azerbaijan, is not going to be an easy one.
Evidently, Mercedes did not have a great time last year in Baku. Hamilton suffered bruises along with back and neck pain due to the bouncing trouble of the W13 car. However, the W14 car does not have the porpoising issues of its predecessor. But the car is not helping Lewis Hamilton to beat Max Verstappen or even Sergio Perez. The new contender, Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, has gone ahead of Lewis Hamilton after the first three races of the season. Hence there is a lot of room for improvement for Hamilton and Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton needs to figure out a way to beat Verstappen on the straight road. The Dutchman always gains a lot more speed than the Briton.
Lewis Hamilton Is In Favor Of The Sprint Race Format
Currently, the F1 drivers are racing in the qualifying rounds. FIA, the governing body, introduced the sprint races lately to increase fun elements for the fans. Recently, they finished racing in the sprint format. Lewis Hamilton had favorable reviews on the new format. The seven-time champion mentioned, “It is like the same old practice session. But the difference is, we win points.” Other than there is not much difference between the sprint format and practice sessions. So, Hamilton feels these races can be fun as these races have no influence on the final race on Sunday.
There is a big gap between the races, and it is fun for the fans, perhaps to include more racing and running. The seven-time champion does not think that these sprint races will make the teams go out more than they have done in the past. Lewis Hamilton feels it is great that they are racing in these different formats on the weekends. Lewis hopes for more of these races in the future. The seven-time champion came in 5th in the qualifying rounds ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix tomorrow. On the other hand, his teammate George Russell will be the 11th car on the grid tomorrow as he got eliminated in Q2.
Alonso Believes “Hamilton Is Lucky”
However, in a recent interview with Marca, a Spanish news outlet, Fernando Alonso called Lewis Hamilton ‘lucky’. When the question came who’s the greatest driver in history, the Spaniard mentioned, “It depends on the car. Lewis was lucky for a long time. If you have the best car, you’ll dominate.”
Alonso also pointed out that Michael Schumacher and Lewis both won seven, Max is on his way to winning his third, and he himself won two. Although the Aston Martin driver acknowledged that he has got a lot of respect for Hamilton. They never really coincided with one another before. However, the previous Grand Prix in Melbourne saw both of them have a close fight.
