Lewis Hamilton: “We Are Creating History”

Lewis Hamilton is absolutely fantastic this year. The reigning F1 champion won his sixth race today and is dominantly leading the drivers’ championship in front of his teammate Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

The race at the Paul Ricard circuit was eighth since the start of the season, and the British driver didn’t have any trouble of finishing at the highest spot on the podium. Mercedes was much better than their biggest rivals Ferrari, and except for some problems Bottas had in the last lap when Leclerc tried to pass him, the German manufacturer had a routine race.

Mercedes won all 8 races in this championship, which is a magnificent achievement. For Hamilton, this is one of those moments when he loves being a part of this team.

“We are creating history together and so proud to be part of this team. I am hot,” the 34-year old stated.

His start was the most problematic part of the race, because of blisters in his front two tires, which were a possible source of problems. Luckily for him, nothing happened, and after a thrilling beginning, everything was in order. According to the winner, this was his best start of the season.

“It wasn’t easy at all, and everything is on the edge. I had quite big blisters on the front two tires – but this has been the best start of the year.”

Valtteri Bottas ended second, but in the last lap of the race, Leclerc came awfully close behind him and even attacked the Finish driver. At the press conference, Bottas stated that he believes that Hamilton could be restrained in the future.

“He is not unbeatable,” said Mercedes no.2 driver. “I will have to work hard to beat him.”

A 50th 1-2 for @MercedesAMGF1 in F1@LewisHamilton secures the victory in France@ValtteriBottas holds on for P2 ahead of a charging @Charles_Leclerc 👀#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/JhxOT0s4lf

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019

This weekend ended with a huge disappointment for Ferrari. They showed good pace and tempo during the previous race when the officials took away a deserved win from Sebastian Vettel. Stewards made a highly controversial decision to add five seconds on his final time because of alleged penalty, which wasn’t that clear at all. Both drivers were hoping to be much better in France, but it wasn’t like that. Vettel was stuck behind, and the fifth place was everything he could do.

“This weekend, the biggest aim was to close the gap as much as possible, and we failed,” the German driver said after the race.

He believes that the tires decided the winners because they suited Mercedes more.

“The more you can look after your tires, and that seems to be favoring Mercedes more than us.”

Leclerc’s drive was solid, and additionally, he showed some signs of aggressiveness in the end. Many of the Ferrari’s fans wondered whether he was able to be riskier a bit earlier. But for the newbie in the Italian team, this is an excellent result, as he slowly adjusts to the environment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb_gyyIpefk

Right now, Hamilton is far away from his competitors. The champ has 187 points, while second-placed Bottas stands at 151. Vettel is third with 111, while young Max Verstappen who ended fourth today, has 100.

Leclerc is fifth with 87.

When looking at the constructors’ standings, we don’t need to tell you that Mercedes has a massive gap between them and all the others. They have 338 points, while Ferrari trails 140 steps behind. Red Bull is third with 137.

All in all, there is a possibility to see one of the most boring championships in this millennium. With the way Hamilton and Mercedes control the situation, it would need a miracle to happen to see an exciting finish of the campaign. The only hope for that is for Bottas to make a breakthrough and pressure his teammate. Vettel and Leclerc are far behind, and Ferrari still isn’t capable of becoming a competitive force which might challenge the champions.

The next race is in Austria this weekend.