Lew’s true brit grit
Hamilton is soldiering on... his performances are impressive, considering the issues with his car DAMON HILL
DAMON HILL has paid tribute to Lewis Hamilton’s staying power – and says he remains ‘an undoubtedly brilliant’ driver.
The former F1 champ says his admiration for Mercedes’ No.1 has risen after the Stevenage ace battled to overcome mechanical issues with his car.
Silver Arrows boss Toto Wolff apologised to Hamilton for putting him in a ‘sh**-box’ after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix a fortnight ago.
And Hill, who won the title 26 years ago, believes the seven-time champion deserves credit for the way he has reacted to Red Bull and Ferrari outpacing him.
Hill said: “The best chance for a victory with a British driver would probably come from Mercedes, but they still have their problems. I’m not discounting Lando and McLaren, but you have to look to Mercedes if you want a realistic shot of a home victory.
“And I’ve been very impressed with Lewis this season. He’s been soldiering on, but he’s still showing signs of his undoubted brilliance. It’s still there.
“As for his team-mate George Rusell, he has been doing brilliantly as well.
“Mercedes must be very pleased with their drivers – much happier than with the car – we all know what Toto called it the other day!”
Mercedes have also had to contend with erratic bouncing, known as ‘porpoising’ – all adding to Hamilton’s frustrations.
And Hill, who forms part of Sky Sport’s F1 coverage, believes that, even allowing for the summer break – during which time Mercedes will be working overtime to correct their problems – the eventual outcome will come down to a straight fight between Red Bull and Ferrari.
Max Verstappen has built up a 46-point lead over team-mate
Sergio Perez, with Charles Leclerc just three points further behind for the Prancing Horse.
But Hill says
Red Bull do not have a blemishfree record this season and it could go to the wire.
He said: “I see the outcome as being between Max and Charles – it probably needs a few dropouts from Max for that to happen.
“I’m not ruling out Mercedes finding the magic they’ve missed, but if you look at historical evidence, it’s pointing to a fight between those two. “It sounds like a lot of points, but all it needs is a couple of slip-ups and that’s 50 points lost. It’s very close. Ferrari have tripped themselves up with mechanical failures so far – there have been too many of them. But Max had that to cope with as well at the start of the season.”
Hill believes, however, that Red Bull have one characteristic in their team that makes them the favourites in his eyes.
He added: “Team principal Mattia Binotto was very quick to praise the team for quick-thinking in Canada, which kept Carlos in the frame with the safety car.
“I think Ferrari have been left a little flat-footed compared to Red Bull. I used to call Williams an engineering team that went racing. Benetton were a race team that did engineering.
“There are two parts to this and Red Bull seem like a very sharp race team.
“The other teams aren’t as good as that. Mercedes have run at the front for so long, they haven’t had to think as inventively as Red Bull.
“Ferrari have focused so much on getting their car to be quick, they have not developed their race strategy as well as Red Bull.
“The rest are a fraction of a second behind them.”
damon Hill will be at silverstone next sunday as part of sky sport’s unrivalled F1 coverage.