Lewis Hamilton had flashbacks to Lance Stroll’s tyre failure last year as he eased to victory at the French Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion had no real competition from Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas as the Briton took the chequered flag 18 seconds ahead of the Finn.
However, despite what seemed to be just a simple afternoon drive around the Circuit Paul Ricard, Hamilton insisted behind the wheel it was anything but.
“It wasn’t easy at all,” he declared in parc ferme after the race.
“There’s always things happening, always on the edge. These cars, as you know, everything is running to a temperature; reliability is everything.
“I had two big blisters on the tyres, so I was a little bit worried. I remember last year, Lance [Stroll] had a tyre blow out, so I was a bit worried about that.”
While the final margin was overwhelming, Hamilton also admits it was a race that required a lot of thought.
“It was a really controlled race, I was chasing performance each lap and trying to increase the gap,” he explained.
“I was pushing the whole way, apart from trying to save the tyres because the tyres were actually a bit more limiting today.”
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A second straight French GP win marks the Briton’s 79th career success and his sixth in the first eight races of 2019.
Despite that, Lewis insists the fire is still burning bright.
“It’s definitely been a really good weekend,” Hamilton added. “I’ve been racing a long, long time, but it just never gets old.
“It’s always such a challenge out there and I just love trying to find the edge, bridging that gap, but I couldn’t do it without this incredible team.
“These guys and all the guys back at the factory, we’re creating history together and I’m so proud of everyone and to be a part of this team.”
