Lewis Hamilton makes Max Verstappen feelings clear after late podium b | F1 | Sport
Lewis Hamilton beamed with delight as he followed his best Grand Prix result as a Ferrari driver with his most buoyant media sessions for a long time. The seven-time world champion too advantage of mechanical DNFs for George Russell and Lando Norris to finish second on Sunday, behind only race-winner Kimi Antonelli.
He sealed that with a late overtake on old rival Max Verstappen which had his mum Carmen, who had made the trip to Montreal, cheering and clapping in the Ferrari garage. “To have a good battle with Max, finally, I’m really, really grateful,” said Hamilton. “I love this job. It’s the greatest job in the world.”
It certainly hadn’t felt like that for a long time, particularly since joining Ferrari. A miserable podium-less debut season in red had him, at times, questioning aloud whether the Scuderia would be better off without him. But that first top-three finish finally came in Shanghai two months ago and more joy came on Sunday at another venue he adores.
He especially loved that he could compete with Red Bull rival Verstappen, having spent years unable to fight on track with his 2021 title nemesis. “I was able to hunt him down, and I love that hunt,” said Hamilton. “That’s what my whole life has been about that since a kid, since I had a really old go-kart, I was just always hunting.
“It was amazing to be back in that position and hunting down a champion up ahead. I had so much fun out there all weekend, every single lap. It felt like we started on the right foot and came with the right attitude.”
Hamilton, referred to as ‘Luigi’ on the radio by team boss Fred Vasseur after the race, celebrated with his Ferrari crew after the race. He added: “It’s a really lovely feeling to see them (the team) so happy because they truly deserve it for the work they have put in. I chose a different setup this weekend, working through the data with my engineer who is awesome, I love working with him. And Fred has been super supportive too.”
While Hamilton fared well, team-mate Charles Leclerc struggled all weekend to find any confidence in his car. Even before the race he had declared it “the worst weekend of my career”. He hopes home comfort next time out in Monaco will help him to put it behind him.
Leclerc said: “There’s no blame to put on anyone but me. It’s been a nightmare of a weekend. Lewis did an incredible job. He had a great weekend in the same car, so I have to look into his data and understand what he did differently to make it work. Next up is my home race in Monaco. I look forward to racing there and hope that our car will give us an advantage on that track.”
