Hamilton: “In the end I’ll probably be grey-haired”

Series champion Hamilton won the season opener on Sunday evening in Bahrain, but had to defend himself against Red Bull ace Max Verstappen until the end. “We love the challenge, I love this challenge,” rejoiced the Briton after his 96th Grand Prix triumph, with which he took the first step towards his eighth drivers’ title.

“But there is still a long way to go, 22 (races) ... In the end I will probably be grey(haired),” the 36-year-old Brit knows that the road to the sole record title will be particularly rocky. “The world champion Lewis Hamilton can only win with one trick. The Formula 1 race in Bahrain shows that a change of power is imminent – towards Red Bull,” wrote the Neue Zürcher Zeitung on Monday also with reference to the ultimately decisive scene in the race in turn 4. The key scene causes discussion Because with three laps to go, Verstappen had already overtaken Hamilton, but had come off the track at this point on the Bahrain International Circuit. The Dutchman therefore had to let the Mercedes superstar take the lead again immediately afterwards and settle for second place. However, such a ride was only sanctioned as the race progressed, which caused a lack of understanding not only among the fans.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff assured that he was “just as confused” as the spectators. “Suddenly we heard during the race that taking the corner that far could be seen as an advantage and potentially cause a penalty,” the Austrian explained. Mercedes therefore instructed its two drivers accordingly. But the announcements must be “clear and holy, and not a Shakespeare novel with possibilities for interpretation,” said Wolff. “We have to be consistent with the announcements that are made.”

“I don’t know how many times the Hamilton has driven over there and then the Max slips out.” Red Bull's motorsport consultant Helmut Marko about turn 4 Red Bull's motorsport consultant Helmut Marko was also annoyed by this unclear line. “Turn 4 was a chapter of its own. I don't know how many times the Hamilton drove over there and then the Max slipped out... He got his tires so dirty that he was only able to attack on the very last lap," said the 77-year-old Austrian opposite ServusTV , which reached “1 million” television viewers in Austria during its Formula 1,3 premiere, according to the broadcast on Monday. Formula 1 fans are looking for excitement With the exception of this external intervention, the duel between Hamilton and Verstappen in the windy desert of Sakhir offered the hoped-for first-class horsepower entertainment. “An epic start,” was the title of the racing series itself. “The biggest winners are the fans,” emphasized Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who is hoping for an end to the Mercedes dominance that has existed since 2014. “All in all, it was our turn. “But to beat Mercedes, you have to be perfect,” was Marko’s summary.

Verstappen had clearly set the tone in Bahrain in the improved RB16B and with Honda power until race Sunday. The 23-year-old set the fastest time in all three training sessions, was also the fastest in qualifying on Saturday with a lead of around four tenths of a second over Hamilton and almost won the first World Championship race of the year despite Mercedes' tactical finesse. “A great race, hard to lose, but that was only the first of 23,” Horner sent the next challenge to Starfleet. <a data-caption="Verstappen (vorne) und Hamilton lieferten sich ein spannendes Duell um den Sieg, wobei sich der Mercedes-Pilot am Ende durchsetzen konnte. © APA/afp / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC" data-fancybox="inline-75282" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2021/03/verstappen-vorne-und-hamilton-lieferten-sich-ein-spannendes-duell-um-den-sieg-wobei-sich-der-mercedes-pilot-am-ende-durchsetzen-konnte.jpg"> Verstappen (front) and Hamilton fought an exciting duel for victory, with the Mercedes driver prevailing in the end. © APA/afp / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC

“The racing god was on our side.” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff “That’s great, isn’t it? There is no better victory than one that is hard-won. And no better championship that goes to the end and where there is just a real exchange of blows. That will be the case this season, at least I hope so,” said Wolff, who also knows that Mercedes still lacks “pace in qualifying and we have to get that under control somehow. If someone had told me on Saturday that it would end like this, I probably wouldn't have believed it, but we have recovered from the tests," said the 49-year-old, visibly relieved. The strategy was perfect – or as Wolff said: “The racing god was on our side.”

With his 75th victory for Mercedes, Hamilton has set the next Formula 1 record: The Englishman is now number one in the lead laps. With 5.126, he overtook the German Michael Schumacher (5.111), who also won seven world championship titles in his career.

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Hamilton: “In the end I’ll probably be grey-haired”

The title fight in the Formula 1 World Championship should finally become a real duel after years of Mercedes dominance. Lewis Hamilton sees it that way too.

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