F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Silenced Critics With 'Standout' Las Vegas GP Drive - Martin Brundle

Saajan Jogia | 3 Hours Ago

Nov 22, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team driver Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain (44) drives during practice for the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024 at the Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle has revealed that Lewis Hamilton silenced his critics through his "standout" Las Vegas Grand Prix drive, where he recovered from the 10th spot to the second. Brundle also spoke about George Russell's clean sweep win on the Strip, claiming that he is ready to lead Mercedes from 2025 when Hamilton makes his move to Ferrari.

Hamilton's inconsistent performances this season, particularly in qualifying, have led many to question whether he still possesses the same reflexes he had during his peak years in Formula 1. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has also been candid about the seven-time world champion's future, openly discussing his potential shelf life.

With Mercedes dominating all sessions during the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, expectations were high for Hamilton to secure pole position. However, a costly mistake in Q3 saw him start ten places behind his teammate. Despite the setback, he fought through the traffic and even mounted a late charge to close the gap to Russell. Highlighting his amazing run, Brundle wrote on Sky F1:

"Hamilton in the sister Mercedes had looked equally fast, albeit with a few trips up the escape road here and there.

"Sadly for him he had two poor laps in final qualifying when the back end stepped out and he would start a lowly 10th.

"He said post-race that had he started at the front he would have breezed the race, which surprised Russell a little. There's no doubt Russell had more pace if he'd needed it.

"However, it was a standout drive from Lewis, picking his way through serious contenders up into second place and finishing just seven seconds behind at the flag. 

"The fans rightly voted him driver of the day, and he answered some questions a few have been throwing at him lately about being over the hill."

Speaking on Russell's dominant performance, which was hardly featured on television during the race, Brundle added:

"In all the championship noise you must feel sorry for George Russell, who qualified impressively on pole position and simply dominated the race.

"He was so far out front for most of the 50 laps we hardly saw him given the battles raging behind. It was George's third Grand Prix victory. Mercedes looked very fast from the opening laps of first practice, and indeed they would lead every session throughout the event.

"Their car simply worked on the cold slick surface, and the team had the good grace to admit they weren't entirely sure why, which is consistent with the unpredictability of that car this year.

"It was an assured performance from George who is looking very much the real deal in terms of leading that team into the future."