Lewis Hamilton makes feelings clear on being in F1 title fight after Belgian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton has insisted he's not in contention to win the F1 title this year after finishing second at the Belgian Grand Prix
SKY
Lewis Hamilton has insisted he's not involved in a fight for the F1 title, despite his recent upturn in form.
The Stevenage-born racer has regained his mojo in recent weeks and was awarded victory in the Belgian Grand Prix after George Russell was disqualified from the race following an investigation.
Mercedes seems to be a happy place to be once more, with the Silver Arrows struggling over the past few years.
Yet Hamilton insists he's not got his eyes on a historic eighth Formula One title this year, with the Briton keen to downplay expectations.
Lewis Hamilton has insisted he's not in contention to win the F1 title this year after finishing second at the Belgian Grand Prix
SKY
"No. That would be high hopes," he told Sky Sports when quizzed on his prospects.
"If we can continue these kind of performances we’ve had the last few races, which has been fantastic, if we can start our weekends better hopefully we can continue.
"I think the McLaren was very strong today but we were just a bit further ahead early on.
"We’ve just got to keep pushing."
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Hamilton also admitted he was surprised by how well he performed, with the Briton confessing he thought Friday's practice was a 'disaster'.
"No we definitely didn’t (expect that)," he added.
"First I have to say congratulations to George and to the team.
"We had such a disaster on Friday. The car was really nowhere. We made some changes, hard to see what it was going to feel like because of the wet yesterday, but the car was fantastic today and we really owe it to everyone, both here doing a solid job with pit stops and strategy, and the guys back at the factory."
As for Russell, the Mercedes star was previously delighted after feeling he'd won a third F1 race of his career.
"Amazing result! Definitely didn't predict this win this morning in our strategy meeting," he said.
"The car was feeling awesome. We made a lot of changes from Friday night and the tyres felt great. I kept saying 'I think we could do a one-stop'.
"The strategy did a great job. Well done to Lewis. He really controlled that race.
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Lewis Hamilton was unable to pip George Russell to glory during Sunday's blockbuster Belgian Grand Prix
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"If the circumstances were different, I'm sure he would have got the victory. One-two for the team is awesome."
Oscar Piastri, who finished third, addressed the result by saying: "We didn't quite have enough speed.
"It took me a couple of laps to get past Charles and I overheated the tyres.
"Clearly the pace for George, staying out there on one set of hards was the right thing to do, but we didn't have enough pace to mow him down and even Lewis, didn't quite have enough.
Lewis Hamilton has been improving in recent weeks with the F1 star finishing second to George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix
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"I think we did a lot of things right, gave ourselves the best opportunities we could but it wasn't quite enough."
The next Grand Prix takes place in the Netherlands on August 25. Max Verstappen has won the event in each of the past three years - but will need to up the ante if he's to add another triumph to his name.
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