Ex-teammates Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton radiated after the Canadian GP.
Lewis Hamilton enjoyed second place in the podium this season. AOP
Formula One is a rare simple species.
Actually, nothing else matters except that your own teammate is left behind.
At least that’s what it looked like after the Canadian GP on Sunday when as well Lewis Hamilton that Valtteri Bottas radiated brighter than the race winner Max Verstappen.
The reason was simple. Hamilton has completely missed a difficult early season George Russellin humiliated. The young British colleague has been clearly ahead in both the time trial and the races themselves.
Hamilton has bravely claimed he’s not bothered by Russell’s better pace at all, but Vale was already revealed in Saturday’s time trial. Namely, Hamilton was in no way able to cover up his pleasure with Russell’s wrong choice of tire.
– I can’t even tell you how happy I am. Me and Ang (fitness coach Angela Cullen) we hugged in the depot for a long time because we have done so much work, Hamilton rejoiced, even though it was a rather modest quadrangle on his merits.
– This feeling of happiness is very similar to the Australian time trial in 2007, the driver even compared his breakthrough to the top of the F1 world 15 years ago.
Great tactics
In the race itself, the Silver Arrow strategy still worked perfectly for Hamilton. Russell was 5.3 seconds away when the seven-time world champion only rose to the podium for the second time of the season.
– What’s up, Montreal? Hamilton began a podium interview.
– It’s really mind-boggling to get this third place. We’ve been fighting the car all year and we still have to stay alert and focused. We won’t give up, and I’m infinitely proud of that, ”he continued.
The smile was so wide that one could well have imagined Hamilton even winning. However, it wasn’t even close, as the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull was still too much for Mersu.
– We’re getting closer, so we just have to try harder. Hopefully we will finally be able to fight these guys.
The story continues after the video.
Watch the video for the Canadian GP Highlights. F1 broadcasts can be watched on VSport’s channels and on Elisa Viihde Viaplay’s service.
Hamilton still lamented on Friday that his car was virtually “unserviceable”. On Sunday, the top pair was still in sight in the final rounds.
– I’m enchanted. I didn’t expect this. This feels really special. My back is fine too, I’m young again, Hamilton joked.
Bottas for points
Almost as pleased was ex-teammate Bottas. A week earlier, a Finn had been a complete Chinese stable friend in Azerbaijan Zhou Guanyun underfoot.
In Montreal, too, Zhou was ahead of Bottas in the time trial, but parts of the race changed completely due to a hit car episode. Bottas managed to make his only depot stop during that time.
– I thought it was a good race because we got good points from those starting points. At the end of the race, we had more momentum than Alpine, and it was good to see, Bottas commented to Viaplay after the race.
The story continues after the picture.
Valtteri Bottas also got great points from Montreal. AOP
At that point, Bottas was eighth in the final, but the jury took over Fernando Alonson to investigate twisting. It was possible that the Spaniard would be dropped a couple of places lower in time.
Certainly it also warmed my mind that Zhou was behind the Finn again.
– Now we have the speed we should have in every race. It felt like a safety car came at the right time for the first time in my life. Now it’s Midsummer weekend free and then for a new race.
The F1 series continues after the benchmark in Silverstone. It remains to be seen whether the smiles of Hamilton and Bottas will coagulate there.