F1 pundit claims that the only thing stopping Ferrari from overtaking Mercedes in the constructors championship is Lewis Hamilton 

Mercedes only have a mere 27 points advantage to Ferrari, with three races left in the season.

F1 pundit claims that the only thing stopping Ferrari from overtaking Mercedes in the constructors championship is Lewis Hamilton 

Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz (Via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton had a brilliant drive to second place in the Mexican Grand Prix, ahead of his teammate George Russell, who finished in 6th place. The two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were P3 and P4, respectively. Hamilton took the fastest lap on the final tour of the Grand Prix.

Mercedes took a total of 27 points from the race, and so did Ferrari. Therefore, the gap between the two teams remained unchanged at 22 points. Mercedes stands above the Maranello-based team, and F1 pundit Jolyon Palmer has credited this to the “Hamilton effect”, as his impressive 220 points are a huge chunk of Mercedes’ points this year. 

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The ex-Renault driver commented that the fight between the two teams says a lot about Hamilton’s bravery while driving, as he earned his sixth podium of the season in Mexico. Palmer said it was bold of Mercedes to opt for the medium tires for such a long stint of the race against both Ferraris on hards.

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It is only, I think, the Hamilton effect right now that’s beating Ferrari…I think it says everything about the bravery of Lewis Hamilton, to be honest, because he really kept his foot in.

Palmer said, as reported by planetf1.com.

Hamilton stands third in the drivers’ standings, behind Sergio Perez. The British driver is 20 points behind second place and may well take it, given his recent form. Perez has come under pressure for his Red Bull seat due to his lackluster performance in the second half of the season, though he is still contracted to drive in 2024.

Former Williams team manager says Lewis Hamilton may have had more pace in the Mexican GP

Lewis Hamilton took second behind Max Verstappen in the Mexican Grand Prix, extending their record of most 1-2 finishes for two drivers. Hamilton took the fastest lap in the last lap, surprising many as Max Verstappen failed to do so with hard tires, which were favored over Hamilton’s mediums.

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton (Via IMAGO)

Peter Windsor, ex-manager for Williams in its title-winning days, said on his YouTube channel that Hamilton may have had more pace in his car. Windsor said it was “interesting” how Hamilton was consistently a bit slower than his rivals for the whole race and quite suddenly took the fastest lap, which was considerably faster than the Mercedes driver was going before. 

That brought a smile obviously to everybody’s face in the Mercedes garage – and certainly Lewis enjoyed that – but it was a weird thing…This is Lewis looking after the tyres and going a little bit slower than Max virtually everywhere, apart from one [lap] –  and on the last lap he does a 21.3!.

Windsor said.

Hamilton took his first podium in the last three races, though he qualified on the front row for Qatar and had taken second in Austin until a later disqualification. Hamilton is confident for the upcoming Brazilian Grand Prix, which he won after qualifying dead in 2021.

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