Lewis Hamilton was left admiring the team effort that got them the win at the Canadian Grand Prix following the disaster in Monaco two weeks prior.
The Briton came into the race after equaling his hero Ayrton Senna’s pole tally of 65 with a lap that saw him smash the lap record giving him and edge over his opponents in qualifying.
On Sunday, he enjoyed a perfect drive that saw him lead from start to finish to score a sixth victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in a drama-packed race.
Hamilton reflected on the response from his Mercedes team, after the disappointment of failing to make the podium in Monte Carlo, to retaking the lead in the Constructors’ championship.
“It has been an incredible weekend, I couldn’t be happier,” the three-time champion said. “Firstly for the team to have come away from Monaco, really, everyone scratching their heads and wanting to work and pull together, and we did.
“In these five years [with Mercedes], I’ve not seen the team pull so well together and work towards the same cause, to understand the car and come here and deliver what we delivered – a great blow to Ferrari.
“Valtteri did a fantastic job this weekend, our first 1-2 for the team, solid points, so well done.”
Looking at the championship, now just 12 points behind Vettel heading to Baku, Hamilton’s tone was much more hopeful than it had been in the build-up to the weekend.
“[Mercedes] did such great work, analysing where we went wrong, all the points – this is where we went wrong and this is what we need to do to fix it – it was just amazing teamwork,” Hamilton said. “We came here; the car is back to where it should be. Doesn’t mean it’ll be like that every time.
“Although Monaco would’ve been a good one to win, I am happy it happened early in the season. It should put us in a good position from here moving forwards.”
