Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton could not hide his satisfaction from winning his home race for the sixth time this Sunday and as usual took a walkabout as soon as he got off the car. The Brit is now 39 points clear of team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the championship standings.
“I am very proud today in front of my fans, my family, my friends and my team. We think we can get used to this kind of thing, but every time, it’s like the first time.” Hamilton said.
“I hope everyone had a good day. For my part, I could not have done without all these guys (fans), nor without my team. It’s all the members of this team that make it all possible, and I’m very proud to be part of such a team.” Hamilton added.
Hamilton and Bottas showed F1 fans a great battle in the first laps. It was the 34-year-old driver who finally emerged victorious. He was even offered, on his last lap, the luxury of getting the point of the best lap in the race even though his car, unlike that of his teammate, was wearing worn tyres.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen have, once again, delivered a manly fight but very clean. It was the Dutchman who came out victorious thanks to the deployment of a safety car following an exit from Antonio Giovinazzi. He could not, however, take advantage of his advantage until the end because of a Sebastian Vettel once again very rough.
The German has indeed hit the Red Bull driver after a very late braking. For this maneuver, he was not only penalty, but even worse. He finished the race off the points, which allows his team-mate Leclerc, who finished third, to return to the drivers’ rankings to only three small points from him.
Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly on the other hand, he finished the race at fourth following an encouraging weekend for the young Frenchman.