LEWIS CRUISES TO GRAND PRIX GLORY
Hamilton on course for seventh title after procession
‘Would I like more of a battle? Absolutely’
THIS point must be made first: we are witnessing one of the greatest drivers and most dominant teams in Formula One history.
We should marvel at them, throw palms at their feet, toast their success all night.
Yes, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, rulers of the Hungarian Grand Prix, we salute you with the gladdest of elbow taps.
But it must be said in the next breath that their combined superiority over the rest of the field — by a degree that promises to carry Hamilton to a seventh world title long before the desert sun sets on the season in December — hardly makes electrifying sport.
How much fun was it watching Beethoven put crotchets on paper?
Take this one-man procession as evidence. Hamilton clinched pole. He made a clean start. He opened up a three- second advantage by the end of the first lap. He was eight seconds up the road after three.
He led for 69 of the 70 laps, only briefly ceding the top seat when he made his first stop.
He was then leading by nearly half a minute when he came in for new tyres just before the end so he could shoot for the fastest lap and the one-point bonus that goes with it. He duly delivered that with a time 2.5sec brisker than Max Verstappen, who took an impressive second place for Red Bull.
Even with that late stop, Hamilton lapped all but the top-five finishers. And by the time he was spraying the champagne, the 35-year- old Briton led the drivers’ standings by five points after three races.
He would be further ahead if he hadn’t been well below-par, perhaps distracted by the fervour of his anti-racism campaigning and the furore it kicked up, at the opening round in Austria.
Valtteri Bottas, second in the standings, also drives a Mercedes. They are an organisation, based in the UK, demonstrating by sustained excellence that their house is built on a rock.
So, with Red Bull struggling here and Ferrari all at sea generally, can Bottas offer a challenge to the defending champion?
It is hard to believe he can. He hasn’t offered a sustained threat yet in three full seasons. Which, one might add cynically is why he is still employed by Mercedes.
Yesterday, Bottas made a poor start, twitching and then stuttering in his grid box, falling down to sixth. The sheer strengths of his Mercedes — and his own clean driving because he is a decent peddler, it should be said — meant he finished third, right on Verstappen’s case by the end.
Hamilton bridled at the suggestion he is so dominant he is boring, objecting — presumably — more to the second part of the analysis than the first. Asked if there was a danger of the season becoming a procession, he said: ‘Not from my seat, no. We are working our a***s off so we are going to continue to do that.
‘Look, I don’t know what is going to happen over these next races. Would I like more of a battle from the other teams? Absolutely.
‘I am sure Red Bull will improve as we get into the season. I am not quite sure what happened to them in qualifying but they were stronger in the race. It was a flawless effort from our team this weekend. We delivered in all areas so it was difficult for the others to compete, but I am hopeful we will find some challenges ahead.’
His only threat yesterday was contained in the gloomy clouds above the Hungaroring, 20 minutes out of Budapest, where British members of the Formula One community were confined all week, when not at the track, to their hotels under the Covid-19 restrictions.
Rain fell in the morning but not during the race, save the smallest of fleeting spots. The track was still wet, but drying fast, as the lights went out and Hamilton bolted.
Just off the podium, in fourth, came Lance Stroll of Racing Point, in what is being called the ‘Pink Mercedes’.
For the second week running, Renault protested its legality, the implication being it resembles last year’s Mercedes more closely than is strictly legal. What a grand idea, though Racing Point deny the crime.
Hats off to Formula One for getting the season started with three races in as many weeks — a logistical coup given the exigencies of the pandemic and the sport’s repeated global travels.
It is Silverstone next in a fortnight and again the following week. Then Spain and Belgium.
If Hamilton wins those four rounds, which is far from inconceivable, it would take him to 90 victories, one off Michael Schumacher’s record.
And where better to match that towering number than at the race which comes next? In Monza, of all places.