Lew bored by how easy GP victory was...
LEWIS Hamilton cruised to victory at yesterday’s Belgian Grand Prix – and then admitted he would have been sent to sleep through boredom by his own dominant display.
The world champion and his all-conquering Mercedes machine are in a class of one this season and his emphatic victory at the Spa-francorchamps circuit marked the 89th of his career and fifth from seven in a campaign where he is now almost certain to match Michael Schumacher’s championship record.
Hamilton led every lap to take the chequered flag 8.4 seconds clear of Valtteri Bottas and move 47 points ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who finished third, and 50 clear of his Mercedes teammate.
As well as matching Schumacher’s seven titles, Hamilton is now on the verge of equalling the German’s victory record, too.
A win at Monza in seven days followed by victory at the Tuscan Grand Prix a week later will take him level with Schumacher.
The great German re-wrote Formula One’s record books by winning 72 of his 91 races and five consecutive titles while driving for Ferrari at the turn of the century.
Hamilton’s own stranglehold on the sport is turning into a carbon-copy of Schumacher’s dominant, but tedious, run.
“I cannot speak for the fans now, but having been a fan and growing up through different eras, the Schumacher era for example, I know what it is like,” said Hamilton.
“I was a teenager back then. I would have woken up, watched the start, gone to sleep and then got up again to watch the end of the race.
“If I was watching as a fan today, I would have done the same thing and just tuned in for the highlights. I can imagine it was definitely not the most exciting race to watch.”
Aside from George Russell’s dramatic exit after his Williams car was struck by a flying wheel from Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo on lap 10, the latest instalment of a one-sided championship.
After racing to his 93rd career pole, Hamilton will have been well aware that his sole threat to victory would arrive on the opening lap.
But after he kept Bottas behind on the short run down to La Source before continuing to keep the Finn at arm’s length on the long march up through Eau Rouge, along the Kemmel Straight and into Les Combes, the following 43 laps resembled something of a procession.
While Verstappen is driving out of his skin to keep up with Hamilton, Bottas is no match for his team-mate. Indeed, instead of challenging for the lead on the opening lap and again at the re-start, after the safety car was deployed following Russell’s accident, he was found wanting. Bottas was more concerned about keeping Verstappen behind than taking on Hamilton, and the Finn is now the equivalent of two wins off the Brit.