For the first time in the 2024 Formula 1 season, Lewis Hamilton was standing on the rostrum at the end of a Grand Prix in Spain.
Alongside the two stars of the season – Max Verstappen and Lando Norris – Lewis Hamilton stood on the podium for Mercedes for the 198 time in his F1 career.
It was only the second time a Mercedes driver had finished in the top three of a Grand Prix this season discounting Hamilton’s second-place during the Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix.
George Russell’s pole position and 3-place result in Canada was a sign that things might have turned around for Toto Wolff’s team and the Circuit de Catalunya is normally a very good track for determining how fast a car is.
However, speaking on the Cameron F1 YouTube channel, Peter Windsor has admitted that he wasn’t blown away by Hamilton’s exploits at the Spanish Grand Prix.
While that might seem overly negative about the seven-time world champion, Windsor’s issue is aimed more at the team than Hamilton.
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Peter Windsor shares why Lewis Hamilton’s Spanish Grand Prix wasn’t ‘massively exciting’
Talking about the 39-year-old’s performance in Barcelona, Windsor said: “I’ve always said I still think Lewis [Hamilton] is driving as well as he’s ever driven and in a Ferrari, if it’s a winning car, he’ll be up there winning races and is quite capable of winning another world championship.
“That said, I didn’t get massively excited about Lewis’s drive in Spain. Only because George [Russell] did such a good job, to be honest!
“Lewis out-qualified him which was good, but George’s start and George’s overtake at the beginning of the first corner was just like, unbelievable.
“If that had been Lewis, I would be sitting here saying, wow that’s the old Lewis.
“He drove really well but let’s keep it in context, they’re [Mercedes] actually worse off than they were last year, to be honest.
“Lewis is just doing a good job in a still pretty mediocre car in my view and he was on the right strategy.
“I think Lewis’s drive was only great in the context of anybody who’s been saying recently, Lewis has lost the plot, he’s never going to be the great driver that he was, I’ve never been saying that.
“I think it was just a standard drive by Lewis, but they were blown away by the customer team yet again so let’s keep things in perspective.”
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Lewis Hamilton will want to end his Mercedes spell on a high
It’s incredible to think that Hamilton has more than 100 Grand Prix victories to his name but hasn’t stood on the top step of the podium since 2021.
Damon Hill wonders if he might be slightly concerned that Mercedes have been quicker than Ferrari over the past two race weekends as he chases another victory let alone an eighth world championship.
However, Hamilton and Mercedes have been one of the most potent combinations in F1 history and he would love to end his decade with the team on a high.
Sooner rather than later, Mercedes will have to begin prioritising George Russell given he will be staying with the team for 2025 and beyond.
That may limit Hamilton’s opportunities but as he showed in Spain, he can still get the better of his teammate even if Russell has been well on top in qualifying this season.
Hamilton has still pointed out weaknesses with the current Mercedes despite that step forward.
Given how dominant Norris and Verstappen have been recently, Hamilton and Mercedes may have to be perfect to end their long wait for a victory.
The post ‘To be honest’: Peter Windsor shares why he wasn't ‘massively excited’ by Lewis Hamilton drive at Spanish GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.