Lewis Hamilton’s mum beams in delight as son secures best Ferrari result | F1 | Sport
Lewis Hamilton was cheered on by his biggest supporter on a red letter day for the seven-time world champion in his turbulent Ferrari career. At the Canadian Grand Prix, the Brit drove a superb race including a late overtake on Max Verstappen to finish a Grand Prix in second place for the first time with the Scuderia.
Hamilton was undoubtedly helped by misfortune that befell some of those ahead. Most notably, George Russell was leading the race when he suffered an engine failure which gifted the victory to Kimi Antonelli, who is now 43 points clear of his Mercedes team-mate in the title race.
But while the day belonged to the Italian teenager, it was also a race to remember for Hamilton who found strong pace in his Ferrari in the colder but ultimately dry conditions to score 18 hard-fought but well deserved points. He capped it with a stunning late overtake on Verstappen to secure that result, a move which sparked cheers and applause from his mum Carmen in the team garage.
She has rarely travelled for races outside of the UK over the years but was in China in March, where her son finished third, and was there in Montreal this weekend to watch her boy go one better. Earlier in the weekend, Hamilton had explained why she had decided to do some more travelling.
He told reporters: “It’s one of my favourite places to come in the season. It’s good to see everybody here. The weather is fantastic today. I landed this morning and my mum is coming this weekend, because the atmosphere in the city is electric.
“I’ve been trying to get my mum to come on the road for a while, and she hasn’t wanted to travel the last couple of years. She’s only come to Silverstone for the last God knows how many years. And I tried to get her out of her comfort zone last year and bring her to Canada. I wanted to take her to Lake Louise, and so many beautiful places in Canada to visit, and excuses kept coming up.
“So, she promised me at the end of the year. She said, ‘Next year is the year I’m going to travel with you.’ So, we did China together, which was honestly the best time we’d ever had together. Then she asked me if she could come to Montreal, and I was like, ‘Absolutely! She’s really my best friend, so I’m really grateful that she’s taken the time to come and be here.”
Speaking after the race, Hamilton was full of praise for his team. He said: “Firstly, I have to say a huge thank you to them. These guys welcomed me with open arms and it’s been really tough for the last year and a bit, so to finally fidn our sweet spot and have a good weekend, it’s an amazing feeling to be back up here. Especially with [Mercedes] being so quick, and I had a race with Max which was great too. I’m just so happy, I love this track.
“It’s definitely encouraging, given if you look at this weekend, Mercedes brought a big upgrade and a lot of people brought upgrades here, while we brought one in Miami. The team are working really hard and we’ve got some other bits on the way. Considering this is a real straight-line speed circuit and we managed to hold on and get this result, it definitely gives me high hopes for what’s ahead.”
