Lewis Hamilton was not in a great mood in the paddock on Thursday. The Briton returns to Spielberg where Max Verstappen was dominant last weekend, and according to Will Buxton and Lawrence Barretto, it showed on his face.
It’s not yet the season start Hamilton had hoped for. In 2021, Mercedes are getting resistance for the first time in years, and Red Bull Racing even have the upper hand. The team and also Verstappen are on top of the championship, and the last four races have been won by Red Bull. Buxton and Barretto say they are tired at the end of this Triple Header, but also see that in Hamilton.
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”Lewis is [feeling tired] as well. He didn’t want to talk and wasn’t all that enthused about it. He was like ‘if it was a different track I’d be excited, but I’m not.’ I struggled to get anything out of him,” Buxton reveals in the Weekend Warm-Up.
”He has also had a tough couple races, so you can’t blame him for that. And he’s not delighted with the second race here,” says Barretto. ”If he had won last weekend, he would be like ‘loving it’ but now he has been in the simulator,” Buxton adds.
That Hamilton had been in the simulator surprised many people, including Barretto. ”The fact that he has been in the simulator is interesting. Because he hates that, he never does that. So that suggests that he needs to find every bit of pace. If the simulator can give him that, he has to do it, even if he hates it,” Barretto concludes.
