Mercedes: Hamilton wins while Rosberg remains philosophical

Lewis Hamilton confirmed his Monaco victory by masterfully winning the Canadian Grand Prix. Too fast in Sebastian Vettel’s eyes and with a perfect strategy, the Brit managed to overcome another poor start when the lights went out: “I don’t know what happened at the start,” exclaimed the world champion after his race.

« My starting attempts were perfect before the formation lap and I was telling myself “this is going to be a piece of cake to get going.” But at the crucial moment, I found myself nowhere. » he continues.

The Briton highlights excessive understeer to explain his contact with Nico Rosberg at the first corner: « I had a lot of understeer in turn 1 while the cars were attacking me from all sides and unfortunately, I touched Nico. »

A version accepted with difficulty by a very disappointed Nico Rosberg at the finish: « Lewis had a bad start, mine was rather good and Sebastian [Vettel]’s was excellent. As a result, I was alongside Lewis and tried to overtake him on the outside. I had to overtake him or resign myself to staying behind. In Barcelona, it worked, but not this time. It was quite a hard maneuver from his side. I need to do a better job next time. »

As a result, Hamilton’s race boiled down to a battle with Sebastian Vettel, who fell victim to his team’s bold strategy: “He was very fast on the first lap and we both had good pace for the rest,” Hamilton further explained. “It was about managing the tires well today, and the team perfectly timed my pit stop. I really enjoyed the race. Every time Sebastian caught up with me, I had just enough to maintain the gap. I was really in the rhythm.”

The reigning world champion dedicated his victory to Muhammad Ali, who passed away a few days ago: « In the last 10 or 15 laps, all I could think about was Muhammad Ali – float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, because I really felt like I was flying at that moment. For me and for many people, he was a great inspiration. »