Helmut Marko suggested that he put a word in Niki Lauda’s ears regarding Lewis Hamilton’s availability after the 2012 season. Does that mean Marko indirectly helped in Hamilton’s move to Mercedes? Whatever the case may be, it went well, both for Mercedes and Hamilton. However, Lewis Hamilton recently made a U-turn and set a benchmark for Mercedes, 10 years after snubbing F1 Giant for a $57 Million move. What is the benchmark? What did Hamilton say?

Lewis Hamilton parted ways with McLaren, who gave him the breakthrough F1 drive and his first championship and joined Mercedes after the 2012 season. It is believed that Niki Lauda played a huge part in convincing Hamilton to join Mercedes after Michael Schumacher retired. The Briton signed a three-year contract with the Silver Arrows, which was worth 57 Million dollars. 

Lewis Hamilton hasn’t looked back since signing with Mercedes and won 6 championships with the team. However, the introduction of ground-effect cars brought an end to Mercedes’ domination. Hamilton’s former team recently brought some major upgrades which shot them toward the top of the grid. Both McLaren will start P2 and P3 for the British GP. 

As Lewis Hamilton praised the performance jump made by McLaren, he advised how the Papaya team had a bad run for a very long time and it’s good to see them performing well. However, the Briton also pointed out the MCL60’s similarities with the RB 19. According to Motorsport.com, Lewis Hamilton said, “I’m really happy for them. They’ve had such a bad run for so long, so to be back up there is really, really great to see. If you just put it alongside a Red Bull, it looks very, very similar down the sides. It’s working. It is great.”

Read More: After 27 Wins and 7 World Championships, Niki Lauda’s $6,000,000 Beast Invokes Interest From Sebastian Vettel

The Briton went on to suggest that McLaren’s performance jump is a warning for Mercedes, who need to make gains of their own. Mercedes did bring a B-Spec car to Monaco, and it did work very well as the team bagged Two podiums in Spain. However, the competition has now overtaken and Mercedes needs to find more performance. Whilst Hamilton is optimistic about the British GP, he shares realistic expectations. 

Lewis Hamilton remains realistic for the British GP Main Race. 

Lewis Hamilton starts the British GP in P7 behind his teammate in P6. Both the McLarens and Ferraris are ahead of the Mercedes duo. The Briton will need a blistering pace to overtake the Scuderia and Papaya team during the race. The same was explained by Hamilton who advised that he will stay optimistic but accepts what the reality is as getting past the cars ahead will be a tough task. 

According to Motorsport.com, Lewis Hamilton said, “Of course, I’ll try and be optimistic and do our best. But realistically, I’m not sure. We will find out. It was difficult to get past two Ferraris and then we’ve got two McLarens out there. It’s going to be a tough race.”

Watch this Story: Lewis Hamilton Exposing Mercedes’ Mistake Termed a Blessing in Disguise After Miraculous Turnaround

What do you make of Lewis Hamilton complimenting his old team? Is the Briton trying to find a way to move back to McLaren?