Lewis Hamilton described Mercedes as the best team in Formula 1 after another strong showing at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix, paying time to highlight the standard of their driver pairing.
At times this season, Mercedes have been the fourth-quickest team amid their continued struggles under the new aero regulations, but once again extracted the maximum from their race package at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Hamilton recovered from fourth on the grid to finish second, while a rampant George Russell blitzed through the pack from 12th to take third and seal the team’s first double podium of the season.
The result saw Mercedes leapfrog Aston Martin into second in the constructors’ championship, while Hamilton and Russell sit fourth and fifth respectively in the driver standings, behind only the Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso.
“I think we have the strongest team, particularly the drivers,” an upbeat Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
“George and I are both punching out great results weekend in, weekend out, so now we just need to pick up the performance a little bit more, which I know everyone is working hard to do and hopefully we can, at some stage, catch these Red Bulls.
“I think the way these cars work they’re a bit of a narrow working window so I think there’ll be tracks that it’s not so great maybe but I’m hoping that it’s not the case, I’m hoping it’s strong like this weekend.”
‘This is way more than I expected’
The Brackley-based outfit will be further buoyed by the performance of their significant upgrade package in Spain.
Feedback was positive when it was debuted in Monaco, but given the uniqueness of the Monte Carlo circuit, the real acid test was Barcelona, with Hamilton heaping praise on the team back at the factory for the radical change in design philosophy that appears to have sparked an upturn in form.
“As long as I’ve been racing here, if you’re quick here, you should be good elsewhere,” Hamilton added.
“To get a second or third. Firstly, George did a fantastic job from P12 all the way to third, great points from the team. And just I hope everybody at the factory that’s maybe back home this weekend feels proud of themselves for this for the amazing work that they’re doing.
“The stuff that we’ve been asked to take this weekend and last weekend and the car felt great. Of course, steps to continue taking to try and close the gap to the Red Bulls but this is way more than I expected this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the race.”
Where is the next F1 2023 race?
With the F1 circus finished in Spain, the next race on the F1 calendar is the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix which will be held at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal over the weekend of June 16-18.
