Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was happy to finish a “rough” 2022 Austrian Grand Prix with third place and further progress in car development.
Having looked competitive throughout Friday Practice and Qualifying, Hamilton suffered a Q3 crash which left him ninth on the Sprint grid, yet further issues in the Sprint saw him battle hard to qualify eighth on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Hamilton ultimately enjoyed a positive start as he gained one position after his teammate – George Russell spun Red Bull’s Sergio Perez at Turn 4, which sent the Mexican tumbling down the order whilst Hamilton went long on his opening stint.
The seven-time champion eventually pitted on Lap 29 and passed Alpine’s Esteban Ocon a lap later for fourth, where he remained comfortably until he was promoted to third on Lap 57 after Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz suffered a power unit failure.
Hamilton consequently reached the checkered flag in third which marked the third consecutive race that he had finished third – having last had a run of three consecutive third-placed finishes in early 2012 for McLaren – amidst a run of improved form.
Pace though had been a huge issue for Hamilton this weekend but he was happy with progress as he explained: ” We had decent pace at different points of the race, even if I was racing a little bit in no-man’s land.
“It’s been a bit of a rough weekend for the team – but I’m grateful we got third and fourth today. That’s great points, and we have improved the car. Now we need to keep chipping away to get back to the front.”
Russell meanwhile recovered from a first-lap collision and subsequent five-second time penalty served at his first pit stop to finish fourth, which he admitted that he “… probably would have taken that before the race.”
The 2018 F2 champion however added that he felt “a little disappointed” with the stewards’ judgement as he explained: “On lap one, Checo dived down the outside at Turn Four, then took a tight line. I had Sainz ahead and had to get up on the apex kerb.
“I thought the penalty was harsh – for me it was a racing incident.”
Russell though believed that Mercedes had ensured that he “maximised” his race with a strong recovery drive, although he is eager to get back to the team factory and analyse where they need to improve to further reduce their deficit.
Mercedes’ Trackside Engineering Director, Andrew Shovlin echoed Hamilton and Russell’s comments about pace, albeit with more positivity as he felt “encouraged” by their progress as a sign that the team is “… moving in the right direction and have more to come in the next few races.”
On what lies ahead before France in a fortnight’s time, Shovlin added: “We have a busy few days ahead at the factory to recover the situation on car parts, this weekend has not been great in that regard!
“But we’ll pull that back in time for Paul Ricard and are looking forward to a track that should suit the car.”
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