Lewis Hamilton delighted after a “good day” at Spanish GP to secure first podium of 2024

Lewis Hamilton finally scored a podium finish at the Spanish GP after sustaining a disappointing start to the season.

Lewis Hamilton delighted after a “good day” at Spanish GP to secure first podium of 2024

Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)

Mercedes had started the 2024 season off in a terrible manner. The team lost out on multiple great results due to disappointing chassis performance. However, the upgrades implemented at the Monaco GP have caused a great improvement in performance. Lewis Hamilton even scored his first podium finish right after George Russell‘s first podium finish in Canada.

Lewis Hamilton was extremely disappointed in the team’s performance since the season started. The ground-effect era struggles continued in the 2024 season as well. However, after scoring his first podium finish in the Spanish GP, the 39-year-old was extremely delighted. Hamilton mentioned that it was a great day and thanked the team for the great strategy and pit stops.

It's been a good day, a good weekend so a big thank you to the team, the strategy and pit stops were on point.
Lewis Hamilton said during the post-race interview.
YouTube video

Apart from this, Hamilton also pointed out his bad start to the race. Regardless, the 39-year-old managed the chassis well around the Spanish circuit to finish in P3. Additionally, the Briton recalled how he thought catching up to the forefront would have been difficult due to the race start.

Like Lando I had a really bad start so lost ground to the Ferraris. I don't know if we could have held onto the guys ahead, but we wouldn't have been as far behind.
Lewis Hamilton added.

Lewis Hamilton claimed hard compounds was ‘never an option’ at the Spanish GP

The Spanish GP was a great change of pace for Mercedes due to the exceptional effort of the team. The strategy was on-point which allowed them to continue to fend off against the in-form Ferraris. Additionally, George Russell also drove well around the circuit to help Brackley maximize on points available from the 66-lap race.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)

However, during the race, the Briton had to make multiple hard choices in terms of strategy. One of these was opting to not use the Hard compounds at all. Hamilton asserted that using the Hards at the Spanish GP was never an option for him. This allowed the 39-year-old to score a much better drive as compared to the others using the hard compound strategy.

It was never an option to run the hard tyre for me today.
Lewis Hamilton noted.

Hence, the remainder of the season will showcase Mercedes’ attempt to implement further in-season upgrades. Brackley has proven their talent by successfully improving chassis performance since the season started. As a result, the team is looking promising to join the battle for a better finish in the constructors’ championship.

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