© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Lewis Hamilton says he was 0.07s up on Max Verstappen in Dutch Grand Prix Qualifying, before Sergio Perez spun and forced everybody to abort their laps.
There’s no denying that, after a poor showing at Spa, Mercedes had a big performance improvement over the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.
Even the team’s one-lap pace, which was their Achilles’ heel up untill now, has been substantially improved.
After the race, Lewis Hamilton revealed he could have possibly even gotten pole, had Sergio Perez not spun in the final moments of qualifying.
“The thing is, last race [at Spa] we were miles away,” the Briton said.
“We couldn’t even understand how we could be that far away, 1.7s or whatever it was, two seconds. And then yesterday I was [on] pole up until the last corner. I was 0.07s up on Max.
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“They are quicker than us on the straight, so even if I had got through the last corner quicker than them, most likely they would have just pipped me by the line, but still there is a huge positive to take from that.
“And then our race pace seems to be better, or as good as everyone. So, if we can just close that up, if we finished the lap yesterday, we would have been third or second perhaps, and we would have been in a much different position in that race.
“So, I’m taking all these positives forward. So grateful for the team and their hard work because it’s been a tough slog for all of them.
“And yeah, let’s not give up,” Hamilton concluded.
