HAMILTON MASTERCLASS CUTS THE GAP TO VERSTAPPEN
“THEY HAVE WOKEN UP THE LION. HE’S ABSOLUTELY ON IT. BRUTAL. AND COLD-BLOODED”
Toto Wolff is in no doubt that Lewis Hamilton’s reaction to his qualifying disqualification at Interlagos has spurred his charge into producing his very best form just as this ultra-close title fight with Max Verstappen reaches its climax. Hamilton channelled his energy to a famous win in the middle of Formula 1’s final 2021 triple-header, then drew on it again to absolutely dominate the championship’s first visit to Qatar.
That he did it sporting a rainbow helmet livery to show his support for the LGBTQ+ community in a part of the world where basic human rights remain sadly restricted for some simply added to his greatness. This was Hamilton at his very best, all while actually missing a key Mercedes strength that could have had him going even faster.
Hamilton has now started on the front row of an F1 race 171 times in his illustrious career. In Qatar, Pierre Gasly was making his first appearance at the head of the grid. Pre-race, paddock figures wondered how much the AlphaTauri driver would risk a bold move on Hamilton in a bid to help stablemate Max Verstappen’s chances, with the Dutchman deservedly dropped five places from qualifying second for his late Q3 yellow-flag breach.
That incident had been caused by Gasly running wide over the raised kerbs behind the Turn 15 high-speed left (the Losail track’s penultimate corner), breaking his front wing and giving him a puncture. It
