The seven-time champion has also identified the most significant weakness of the Mercedes: the rear end, which hampers them from keeping up with the best in slow corners.
Lewis Hamilton, second consecutive podium
Perhaps he has truly “seen the light at the end of the tunnel.” That phrase uttered by Lewis Hamilton at Montmeló seemed like an outburst of optimism from the British driver, much like several others we have witnessed in the past year and a half. However, even on a circuit that tends to be unfavorable like Montreal, Mercedes showed its presence and was once again able to challenge for a place on the podium.
Without George Russell’s mistake, the result for the W14 cars would have certainly been better. But if we play the game of incidents, it must also be said that Ferrari potentially threw away a podium with a blunder in qualifying, which eliminated Charles Leclerc from Q3 and forced the Monegasque to forgo a free pit stop in order to execute a major overcut and get rid of the DRS train that had significantly slowed him down in the opening laps of the 2023 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
It was precisely the pace of the Ferrari SF-23 cars that surprised the seven-time F1 world champion after the Montreal race.
Lewis Hamilton’s words
“Being consistent and fighting for the podium with relative consistency is fantastic for us. I believe it has been a tough weekend for others. The Ferrari cars were fast. If they had qualified as they should have or if the qualifying had been drier, they would have been ahead of us. It would have been difficult to overtake them, but it didn’t turn out that way. We did a better job than everyone else. We still need to work on the rear-end performance of our car; it’s our biggest weakness. I can’t keep up with the others in low-speed corners.” – the Mercedes man admitted.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Lewis Hamilton right after the Canadian Grand Prix
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion, just before the podium ceremony, commented:
“It has been a great weekend for us. We are gradually making a comeback. Aston Martin did a little more this weekend because they brought upgrades. The crowd here is amazing, the atmosphere is extraordinary. Where can we improve? Honestly, it’s a great honor to be on the podium with two other world champions. I was happy to be fighting with them, but unfortunately, today we didn’t have enough pace. We knew this weekend wasn’t the best for us. I struggled in the low-speed corners; that’s where I was losing time to Fernando and Max. In the traction out of turn 2, coming out of every corner. We need to add aerodynamic load to the car and make it more efficient. But we are closing the gap; we’ll arrive soon. Max is still too far ahead, but in terms of pace, we have gotten a bit closer.” – Lewis Hamilton concluded.
Leave a Reply