Lewis Hamilton spoke of his ‘surreal’ experience in Saturday’s Sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix, in which Mercedes arguably gave their most competitive showing of 2022 so far.
Hamilton’s teammate George Russell hounded Max Verstappen for several laps before passing the Dutchman to take victory, while Hamilton ended the Sprint in third after climbing from eighth on the grid, also passing Verstappen as he did so.
A penalty for second-placed Carlos Sainz means Russell and Hamilton will line up 1-2 on the grid for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, and Hamilton couldn’t hide his delight at Mercedes’ return to form.
“It felt good to have momentum,” Hamilton told Viaplay.
“Even just passing a Red Bull today, it’s the first time I think I’ve gone past a Red Bull that I can remember [in 2022].
“It was very, very surreal. This is the first time we’ve overtaken them in a long time, and so we’re just really proud of everybody in the team.”
Hamilton confident for Sunday in Sao Paulo
Pressed on whether Mercedes would be able to maintain their good form in Sunday’s Grand Prix, Hamilton sounded a positive note.
“I think it depends on the weather tomorrow, but the car felt really great today,” said Hamilton, who has won at Interlagos on three previous occasions.
“We have to do some work overnight to see what adjustments we can make – not that you can make many changes, but just trying to get the right balance.”
If Mercedes fail to win one of the two remaining races of 2022, this will be the Silver Arrows’ first winless season since 2011.
Similarly, if Lewis Hamilton does not emerge victorious in either Brazil or Abu Dhabi, 2022 will be the Briton’s first season in which he has not won at least one Grand Prix, having done so in every year since graduating to F1 in 2007.
