Lewis Hamilton wants ‘serious conversations’ with Mercedes despite Silverstone podium

Henry Valantine
Lewis Hamilton inspects the McLaren after the race. Silverstone July 2023.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton looks at Lando Norris' McLaren after finishing the race. Silverstone July 2023.

Lewis Hamilton has said McLaren’s progress is proof that “serious conversations” are needed at Mercedes to keep moving forward.

汉密尔顿第三名和他的菲尼14讲台sh at Silverstone during Sunday’s British Grand Prix, but the huge leap forward made by McLaren in recent races saw Lando Norris take a remarkable P2 finish behind eventual winner, Max Verstappen.

Hamilton was hot on his young compatriot’s heels in the sprint to the finish after the Safety Car came out for Kevin Magnussen’s retirement, but the straight-line speed in the McLaren was such that the seven-time World Champion dubbed the MCL60 “a rocket ship” after the race.

Lewis Hamilton wants ‘serious conversations’ about next steps with Mercedes

Hamilton was one of the beneficiaries of the Safety Car coming out for Magnussen’s engine failure, able to make a pit stop and lose much less time than he normally would.

This jumped him up from what was sixth on the road to third, eventually crossing the line to take a previously unexpected podium for Mercedes on Sunday.

He admitted it was a “huge” result for Mercedes in that sense, but also acknowledged that the progress made elsewhere was a sign that there is still a lot of work to be done at Brackley to get the team where they want to be.

“For us, being on the podium was huge, and huge congrats to Lando and to McLaren. That’s where I started, so to see them back there doing so well, it really warms my heart,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 after the race.

“It’s definitely been an up and down season in the last year and a half.

“We have a lot of work to do. I think I know exactly what we need to do, and I think we’ve got to have some serious conversations about what are we going to do moving forward.

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“You know, the McLaren is proof of the direction that they’ve gone. I mean, it was impressive how quick they were in high speed.

“我们有很多优势在我们的车和长run particularly is great. As soon as we get the rear end that they have, we’re going to be on our way – so that’s what we’ve got to fight for.

“But first, George had a really great long stint on the soft tyre, and I did also on the medium tyre. We’ve got to hold onto the good bits and just bolt on some good other stuff.”

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