Lewis Hamilton is currently riding on the highs of his recent British GP win. The 39-year-old ended a two-and-a-half-year losing streak by finally getting to the top step of the podium at his home race. While he never got the pole position during the Silverstone Quali, he managed to go past his heavyweight opponents, defend against the charging McLaren of Lando Norris, and avoid any on-track accidents as he delivered a clean win in Britain. With this, Hamilton has made history since he now has a whopping 9 race wins at his home circuit. But Helmut Marko is still not convinced that Mercedes is delivering their best, even after Hamilton’s resounding victory.
The Red Bull Chief Advisor witnessed firsthand as Max Verstappen failed to score a win in the rainy conditions at the British GP, where Hamilton prevailed. Throughout the weekend in his home country, the Stevenage native performed well. Even after not getting the pole position, Hamilton proudly claimed that he was feeling confident about his Mercedes W15. And then, during the main race, he actually soared to victory in his Silver Arrows machine while the drivers from the reigning World Champion, Red Bull, could not.
Mercedes’ consistent top-rank finishes in the last few Grands Prix (with a victory for George Russell in Austria and another for Hamilton in Britain) has raised some questions. The speculators now believe the Stuttgart-based outfit might have the fastest car out of all the other teams right now. When Helmut Marko was asked about this, the octagenarian told Oe24, “They have taken a step forward. But that doesn’t mean they have the fastest car yet.” Marko went ahead and even explained how Mercedes and the rest of Toto Wolff’s entourage could help Hamilton’s record-breaking 104th victory, saying, “Silverstone with its cool temperatures was good for Mercedes.”
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While Hamilton cherished the movie-like end to his long wait for a Grand Prix win, the Briton spoke about what his father had said post the race. Well, how did Anthony Hamilton feel when he learned that his son has at last accomplished 104 race wins in F1?
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Lewis Hamilton recounts the words his father said to him in Silverstone
To say that the British GP was an emotional affair for Lewis Hamilton might be an understatement. Even after winning 7 F1 World Championships, the Brit received enormous flak from the critics for failing to score a single victory at any of the races he took part in for 945 days. But when Mercedes suddenly showed a spurt of speed as the team walked into Silvertone, Hamilton knew good results were awaiting him.
And when the 39-year-old finally crossed the chequered flag while at the lead of the pack, his father, Antony Hamilton, mother, Carmen Larbalestier, were all in attendance. Just after his win, he exchanged some emotional words with his father. And when Lewis was asked about them later on, he said, “Oh God, I don’t remember, I think he said, ‘you really needed, you really wanted that one didn’t you?’ and I said ‘yes’. That’s just it, yeah.”
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However, Helmut Marko is not ready to believe Mercedes helped Lewis Hamilton win the British GP, which is one of the oldest races on the F1 calendar, because the W15 is incredibly fast now. According to the Austrian, the weather in Britain favored the Silver Arrows and perhaps, in the upcoming Hungarian GP, they won’t be so lucky. Do you think the same, or is there no doubt in your mind that Hamilton has battled for his 104th Grand Prix victory? Let us know in the comments below.
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Is Helmut Marko right to question Mercedes' strategy despite Hamilton's historic win?
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