A contact with Kevin Magnussen in the first corners prevented to see what was the best possible result for Hamilton in the Spanish GP, but his comeback from the last one to the fifth final position tasted like a victory to the driver.
Despite the fact that he asked to leave on the first lap, Mercedes convinced the Briton that he could still be eighth, and a very fast race began there in which he managed to be fourth in the closing stages before an engine problem forced him to slow down. rhythm.
Asked if that performance showed he’s still as good as ever after a rocky start to the year, Hamilton pointed to the bad luck he’s had so far in 2022, admitting that the second half of the race at Circuit de Barcelona- Catalunya reminded him of a better time.
“Yes, I think it’s always good, I think without a doubt since the last race last year it has been difficult in all aspects,” he acknowledged. “And then having the difficulties that we had with the car, having constant hiccups with certain issues, safety cars and all sorts of things, I just didn’t have much luck.
“But if you fall, you get back on the horse, and you keep pushing, and you never give up. To start the race well and then have that problem, but then come back, it made me feel a lot like the old days, older races. I’ve done. That to me is incredible.”
Mercedes and Hamilton have enjoyed absolute superiority since the hybrid era began in 2014 and until 2021 Max Verstappen and Red Bull changed the trend. Hamilton, who overtook several cars in his last stint of the Barcelona race, once again felt the sensation of a single-seater capable of anything.
The director of the Mercedes team, Toto Wolff , also gave his opinion along these lines, speaking of the fourth position that Hamilton had before the final problem that caused him to lose a place with Carlos Sainz.
“Who would have thought that I would go up to fourth place before the problem arose. And that car that I was driving looked like a world championship winning car, something that would not have been possible in the previous races. That reminded me of last year and the previous years when a car is really at its best, and so is the driver.
Finally, Wolff spoke about Hamilton’s decision to retire on the first lap, and how the team and driver decided to go ahead: “Yes, the dynamic between the driver and the team is something very important and it is clear. You have an accident at the beginning and you say to yourself ‘not again’, and you’re not there anymore because you’re about 38 seconds from the last one, which is where he was after that first stop.
“And then it looks like game over, game over. But then he went on and showed that really good rhythm. It wasn’t just his morale, it was our morale as well.”
