© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Lewis Hamilton says the final two races of the 2021 season “should be quite good” for Mercedes’ car, so he’s “looking forward to that battle”.
After a dominant performance in Brazil, Lewis Hamilton once again dominated at the Qatar Grand Prix and reduced Max Verstappen’s drivers’ championship lead to just eight points.
At the post-race press conference the Briton gave his rundown of the race.
“Today, of course the race was made a lot easier with the penalties that the guys obviously got for the mistake they made yesterday, so that made it a lot more straightforward,” said Hamilton.
“I was just managing the gap at the front, keeping the car safe and trying to maximise and bring the car home.
“I generally felt I wasn’t massively under threat. I managed to cover the ground just off the start and after that it was just kind of head down and focused on trying to [keep] the gap.
“I already saw once I got to Turn 6 that Max was already in fourth place, so I knew that he was already past my team mate, and at the time I didn’t know Valtteri had had such a bad getaway.
“Then after that, I was just focused on trying to maximise the points for the team, was feeling strong.
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“I think [Red Bull] had relatively decent pace but I was able to manage the pace, so it wasn’t a problem.”
Lewis says he is now energized for the two remaining races of the 2021 season.
“The last two weeks have been fantastic, just amazing. But there’s no time for celebrations; I’ll be back in with the team already again next week and just back in training tomorrow. Just stay on it, head down.
“I don’t really have too much emotion except for [being] driven right now. But it’s amazing… To close that gap so many points in these last few races has been important.
“They’re obviously still very fast as you could see today with their fastest lap and both their cars getting past pretty much everyone quite easily.
“So we’ve still got our work cut out and a big shame for Valtteri today. [But] I feel positive going into these next couple of races.
“I think they should be quite good for our car, so I’m looking forward to that battle,” concluded the seven-time champion.
