Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton hails “very special” second-placed finish at 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton started seventh after he suffered a DRS issue during Qualifying but quickly recovered to fifth at the race start, having passed both Alpine drivers of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso which he described as “crucial” amidst feeling more comfortable with the car balance.
The Brit also noted that cooler temperatures across Qualifying and the race seemed to benefit Mercedes as he admitted that if he hadn’t had a DRS failure in Q3, he could of fought George Russell and both Ferrari drivers for victory.
A two-stop strategy which saw Hamilton run two sets of medium tyres before finishing on the soft tyre compound eventually saw him finish second, ahead of his Mercedes teammate – Russell, with the seven-time champion describing their second consecutive double podium finish as “very special”.
Hamilton proceeded to pay tribute to Mercedes for their efforts in a tough first half of the season, as he said: “I want to acknowledge my team, who have continued to push and have never given up through this tough year that we’ve had so far.”
On Mercedes progress in reducing their performance deficit, Hamilton added: “It’s an amazing way to go into the break, knowing we’re clearly closing the gap and have more performance.
“Hopefully, we’ll bring some more into the second part of the season and start fighting with the guys in the front.”
Russell meanwhile enjoyed a strong start on soft tyres as he led in the opening two stints until he was passed for the lead by Charles Leclerc, before both drivers were undercut in their second pit stops by race winner – Max Verstappen.
The ex Williams driver though admitted that he had “lost temperature” in his medium tyres when rain began to fall during the closing laps, which left him in a “challenging” situation of managing his tyres to the checkered flag in third behind Hamilton.
Russell though added that he has one ambition for the remainder of the season after the summer break as he concluded: “We’re making progress and I’m proud of the work everybody has put into it.
“We will come back to the second half of the season with a reset, refocussed and will try to fight for some victories.”