Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton has praised the performance of the upgraded Mercedes, describing it as the best car he has driven in the last 15 months.
The German manufacturer introduced its first season upgrade at the Monaco Grand Prix with the 38-year-old finishing in fourth place.
Hamilton took it up a notch in Barcelona, crossing the chequered flag in second place behind race winner Max Verstappen. His teammate, George Russell finished in third to give Mercedes their first double podium this season.
“Definitely, the best the car has been for the past year and a half,” Hamilton said.
“So that’s kudos to the amazing group we have back at the factory, continuing to work hard and to push the car forward.
“It felt the best that it’s felt for the past 15 months, or whatever it is. That’s super encouraging, not only for me but for everyone in the team.
“This will be a big boost for everybody’s morale and we are going to take that energy on to developing the car.”
⚪️✨ pic.twitter.com/SFcBYs0l5A
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 4, 2023
Hamilton however stated that it was too early to draw any conclusions on Mercedes’ performance gains as the Brackley outfit was equally competitive in Barcelona a year ago and stressed the aim remains to close the gap to Red Bull as Hamilton finished 24 seconds behind Verstappen.
“They normally say if you’re quick in Barcelona your car should be generally quick everywhere,” Hamilton continued. “But I think we will be strong in the next races.
“There’ll be times when the Aston is maybe ahead, or the Ferrari maybe is ahead. But I think our race pace continues to be a strength of ours. As it was last year.
“This weekend particularly, we’ve understood the car more. So, I think we can count on that being strong moving forwards.
“We’ve just got to try and lift the overall performance of the car a little bit more to try and close the gap to these guys [Red Bull].”
Hamilton remains in fourth place in the drivers’ championship, 12 points ahead of Russell and 12 points behind third-placed Fernando Alonso for the Mercedes-powered Aston Martin. Hamilton is 83 points behind championship leader Verstappen.
Mercedes’ double podium saw them jump ahead of customer team Aston Martin into second place in the constructors’ championship, 18 points ahead of the Silverstone outfit. Red Bull Racing sit at the top with a 135-point lead.
