Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes’ strongest result of the season so far, in the second race after their introduced a major upgrade for their car, was an unexpected success for the team.
Hamilton passed Lando Norris at the start of the race, then overtook Carlos Sainz Jnr to move into second place where he eventually finished. His team mate George Russell rose from 12th on the grid to join him on the podium in third.
Mercedes’ 33-points from their double podium finish is their most from a grand prix so far in 2023. It moved them up to second in the constructors’ championship, ahead of Aston Martin.
Hamilton credited his team’s factory for the performance following the recent changes to their car. “We definitely didn’t expect to have the result we had today,” he said Hamilton after the race. “So I just really wanted to take my hat off to my team.
“A big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory for continuing to push and bring us a little bit closer to the Bulls. They’re still a bit ahead, but we’ll keep chasing them down. But this is an amazing result. George did a great job today as well.”
Max Verstappen won the race from pole position, just over 24 seconds ahead of Hamilton in second. Hamilton said Red Bull remain “a little bit too quick at the moment, but we’re working at it.
“Just one step at a time,” he continued. “If we could get close by the end of the year, that would be awesome. But if not, next year.”
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Hamilton’s team mate Russell also admitted he was surprised to have taken a podium after starting outside of the top ten.
“Kudos to the team for giving me a really great car today,” he said. “That was a fun race for us, starting from P12 and coming all the way to P3 – a sign of things to come hopefully for us and the team.”
Russell said that after two weekends with the upgraded W14, he can tell that the Mercedes has improved from where it used to be.
“It definitely feels better,” he said. “You’re just putting in those lap times and you compare them with the guys around you – with the Astons and the Ferraris – and we were just quicker and quicker and quicker.
“We know we’ve brought some more downforce to the car, we know things were in a better window. So really pleased with having a podium.”
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2023 Spanish Grand Prix
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