What a Hungarian Grand Prix this was being billed as when Lewis Hamilton rocked his Mercedes W14 on pole yesterday. After a 20-month-long hiatus, the Brit was back to the very pinnacle of Formula 1 racing. And to add to the mix, his arch nemesis, Max Verstappen was lined up right alongside him. After a dreadful start, Hamilton fell backward, and since then, the pace of the W14 magically disappeared.
At the end of the day, after such a promising start, the 38-year-old could only muscle his way back into 4th. Be that as it may, the Brit did drive a solid race. However, in reality, it was the high-fuel race trim that disadvantaged him and his W14. And as soon as the chequered flag fell, he beckoned his team to follow his lead and priceless advice.
Lewis Hamilton makes one crucial demand after the Hungarian GP
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Compared to yesterday, Hamilton’s pace was really nowhere to be seen. The Silver Arrows have arguably pulled their socks up, but the bitter reality is that they aren’t even close enough to challenge Red Bull on merit. Hamilton knows this and the time for action is now.
📻 Lewis: "Tough day today guys. Wasn’t meant for us but thank you so much for your hard work.
"Let’s keep pushing. We’ve got a lot of changes and improvements we need to make to this car so let’s get them ASAP."
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 23, 2023
After the race, he came onto his team radio comms and declared, “Tough day today guys. Wasn’t meant for us but thank you so much for your hard work. Let’s keep pushing. We’ve got a lot of changes and improvements we need to make to this car so let’s get them ASAP.“
That being said, while Hamilton plots his resurgence, Verstappen has some sorry news for him.
Max Verstappen makes a threatening prophecy
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The way the Dutch lion drove today would’ve been demoralizing for everyone. And to coat this up with a crushing blow was that the team broke McLaren’s 11-consecutive race wins’ record from 1988. And we’re only halfway through the season!
Post-race, Verstappen was already looking forward to add more glory to himself and the team. He said, “For the team, 12 wins in a row is incredible. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going for a long time,” as quoted by The Independent.
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