Lewis Hamilton picked up his second podium of the season in Spain (Photo: Getty)
Sir Lewis Hamilton thanked his team for getting the Mercedes car ‘a little bit closer to Red Bull’ following a double podium at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen took a very comfortable victory at Catalunya on Sunday, with Hamilton and George Russell rounding out the top three.
This was the first race of the season that the Silver Arrows were able to show off their new upgrades and though they found Saturday tough, qualifying fourth and 12th respectively, come race day everything came together.
And though Verstappen won by over 24 seconds, the Mercedes duo were able to beat the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez and were well ahead of Aston Martin and Ferrari.
‘What a result for our team,’ Hamilton said post-race.
‘We definitely didn’t expect to have the result we had today, so I just really want to take my hat off to my team and say a big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory for continuing to push and bring us a little bit closer to the Bulls.
‘They are still a bit ahead, but we’ll keep chasing them down. This is an amazing result and George did a great job as well.
Max Verstappen won the Spanish GP ahead of Hamilton and George Russell (Photo: Getty)
‘I think they are a little bit too quick at the moment, but we are working at it, one step at a time. If we can get close by the end of the year, that would be awesome. If not, next year.’
Russell, who has picked up his first podium of the season, added: ‘A little bit surprised for sure. Kudos to the team for giving me a great car today.
‘That was a fun race for us – starting from P12 and coming to P3. Hopefully a sign of things to come for us and the team.
Mercedes have moved up to second in the standings (Photo: Getty)
‘It definitely feels better. You are just putting in those lap times and comparing it to the guys around you – the Ferraris and Astons and you are going quicker and quicker.
‘We know we brought some more downforce to the car and are in a better window, so just happy to be on the podium.’
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was far more cautiously optimistic however, telling Sky Sports: ‘Let’s keep our expectations real.
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‘There’s such a long way to go in order to catch Red Bull. We just need to grind away. It’s a good moment to see that the development direction is right.
‘We just need to chip away and we are really good at grinding. Once there is a setup direction and development direction, we will just go for it. We have that advantage of development time.
‘Today the temperatures suited us – not too hot, not too cold. The car was in a mega window.’
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Max Verstappen won his fifth race of the year in Spain.