Lewis Hamilton ‘proud’ to fight F1 rival who should ‘easily’ beat Mercedes star

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Lewis Hamilton is ‘really proud’ to still be rivalling Sergio Perez for P2 in the drivers’ standings as the Red Bull driver should ‘easily’ be beating the Mercedes pilot this year.

Just 30 points now separate Perez and Hamilton for the runners-up spot to Max Verstappen in 2023. The Mercedes star crept marginally closer to his Red Bull rival over the Qatar Grand Prix weekend. But retiring from the race on Sunday proved to be a huge missed opportunity.

Hamilton gained ground on Perez in the Sprint after finishing in P5 while the 33-year-old was involved in a crash. But the 38-year-old could not take full advantage of the Mexican’s plight over the Grand Prix after crashing with teammate George Russell. Perez only finished in P10.

Hamilton is ‘really proud’ to still challenge Perez for P2

Perez ruined his Qatar GP by collecting three five-second time penalties for exceeding track limits. It ensured the Red Bull racer fell to P10 at the flag after crossing the line in P9. While Russell recovered from his Turn 1, Lap 1 crash with Hamilton to claim P4, 46 seconds ahead.

Mercedes could have scored big points with both of their drivers had Hamilton not retired at the first corner. The seven-time Formula 1 champion sandwiched Russell with Verstappen as he attempted to overtake both drivers around the outside. He could have snatched the lead.

Hamilton now has just five races remaining to overturn Perez’s lead which stood at 41 points after the Belgian GP. He has made slight inroads into that deficit over the past five races with Perez also enduring disastrous races in Singapore (P8) and Japan (retired) having crashed.

Hamilton is focused on helping Mercedes beat Ferrari

Yet even challenging Perez for P2 in the drivers’ standings brings Hamilton delight given the advantage Red Bull have over Mercedes. While 30 points split the Briton from the Mexican, Verstappen is a further 209 points down the road. He has extracted everything from the car.

Red Bull would still lead the constructors’ championship over Mercedes (326) with the 433 points that Verstappen alone has amassed. So, rather than focusing on catching Perez for P2 in the drivers’ standings, Hamilton is fixed on helping Mercedes beat Ferrari for that P2 spot.

“I mean, it’s ultimately largely dependent on Checo’s performance moving forward,” stated Hamilton, via quotes by GP Fans. “He should easily have second, as you know. But I’m really proud of where we are, where I’ve managed to get to.

“I am really proud of the race performances so far. Of course, I want to try and do better and do more and, if were to get second, it would be amazing. But the main focus is really to try and get second for the team.”

Ferrari failed to take advantage of Hamilton retiring from the Qatar GP with Charles Leclerc taking P5. Carlos Sainz did not start at the Lusail International Circuit after the Scuderia saw a fuel system problem. Russell’s P4 allowed Mercedes to now rank 28 points clear of Ferrari.