There was a time when only wins could make Lewis Hamilton happy. But just as the night changes, he does. Today Hamilton is happy with just a good drive and a sixth finish in the Miami Grand Prix. Sad but not sad, as he at least could make points after being knocked out in the Q2 on Saturday. Not only the seven-time world champion but also the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix winner, George Russell, who just missed the podium last day, is happy about the race.
Even such low results are satisfying for the Mercedes drivers, perhaps because they accepted that Mercedes’s domination has ended. And now, surviving on the front grid is all that matters! After a drastically disappointing 2022 season, Mercedes has decreased their standard. However, discussing the history is not worth it now. Let’s discuss how the Miami Grand Prix 2023 was a “good and satisfying one” for the Brackley-based team.
This Is How Lewis Hamilton Explains How The Miami Grand Prix Was A “Fun” Race For Him.
First of all, the W14 was behaving a little like a competitive beast over the Miami International Autodrome. Lewis Hamilton started the race from P13 and ended up on P6. Was it not impressive? Yes, it was. The way Hamilton improved the drive, especially after getting on the medium tyres. It was not just a progressive drive but also well teamwork. In the middle laps, Lewis allowed his teammate George Russell to pass him, which could help the team attain more points as he started from the P6. Apparently, he was unaware of the strategy Mercedes was playing with. Unaware of how much the W14 could go higher or worsen, Hamilton drove it to the best. Later, in the post-race interview with the Sky F1, the seven-time world champion even claimed that “It was difficult to start the race just being in a DRS train with a lot of rivals cars in between trying to get past the William’s Alex Albon was not at all easy.”
However, at the end of the day, what matters is that Lewis Hamilton was able to “start making headway.” He explained that once he was done with the stop and was on the Mediums, he was able to push the W14 harder. That was the time when the car was a “little alive midway through the race.” Yes, Lewis Hamilton is happy because he got a P6 from P13. “I am pretty happy to get from 13th to sixth,” he said.
However, the unfortunate thing was that the Brackley drivers started the race from far behind Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Mercedes kept their head down and continued to push even though they were not achieving what they wanted so desperately. In the end, Lewis Hamilton expressed how grateful he was for being with Mercedes [perhaps reassuring his long way stay in Mercedes]. “A big thank you to the team again this weekend,” the Briton asserted. It definitely means that Hamilton was correct when he acknowledged that there is great morale within Mercedes.
