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Lewis Hamilton has a lot to be happy about. After producing one of the all-time great laps in qualifying, the Briton dominantly won the Styrian GP.
But just a short week ago, things weren’t as great for the six-time champion. At the Austrian Grand Prix Hamilton finished the race in P5, after receiving a five second penalty for making contact with Alex Albon in the final stages of the race. However, the Briton rebounded this week.
“When you’re doing a good job and you’re doing it to the way you know you can do it, it’s definitely a much better feeling,” said Hamilton.
“I honestly feel like I prepared the best I could for last week, but ultimately there were some scenarios or choices that could have been better made, or better circumstances or a position I could put myself in, and there was just a domino effect of these things that often tends to happen.
“This weekend started off in a positive frame of mind. Obviously FP1 was good, FP2 was a bit of a disaster, but I sat with the guys afterwards. We didn’t throw any toys out of the pram, we sit there and dissect the data, try to understand, we pull together. It felt positive going into the Saturday.
“It rained out, and I was just hopeful we could get out and qualify. I was actually quite happy that we didn’t have FP3, because that gives everyone else less time to practice, and I knew what I’d be able to do if qualifying started.
“That’s what I did I just kept my head down, didn’t make any mistakes. And then obviously today with the same mind frame as yesterday of course it’s much different starting from first than fifth.
“Leading from the front is a different scenario, but I’ll definitely take it. It’s a different type of management, a different type of race.
“Perhaps not fun for you or the fans to watch. I wouldn’t say any less challenging for myself, just different, and I try to perfect it the best way I could today, and I think I got everything and more from it.”
Still, it wasn’t all easy going for Lewis. In the earlier parts of the race, second-placed Max Verstappen was keeping the Briton on his toes.
“At the beginning of the race it wasn’t very easy to get past a two second gap, but I think maybe his tyres dropped off a little bit, or I got a better groove and I just managed to eke that gap out a little more.
“I was more comfortable in the second stint with my understanding and feeling with the tyres, and maybe he had more degradation than me.
“That honestly has been a real strength of mine, managing these tyres, and I was able to continue extending that gap.”
Source: autosport.com
