In the home of Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton can set Michael Schumacher's winning record. Mercedes succeeds in what the Scuderia can't: learn from mistakes as quickly as possible. And Hamilton leaves some things almost a bit speechless.
Barcelona (dpa) - Formula 1 immediately tweeted a video with Michael Schumacher. "He's a very talented driver," he said in an interview with a British broadcaster before the 2007 season. Schumacher was retired for the first time. Who was he talking about? Lewis Hamilton.
The Briton started his career in the premier class of motorsport. At the end of this year, this Hamilton will in all probability have replaced Schumacher as the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1.
"I don't really know what to say about these things," said Hamilton after making his 88th career win on Sunday clear. Three are still missing from Schumacher's 91 Grand Prix successes. "We, all the drivers, grew up watching Michael drive," said Hamilton. "What is happening now is far from what I dreamed of as a child."
Title number seven at the end of this season no longer seems questionable after Hamilton and Mercedes solved the problems with the tires within a very short time despite the three-week stress test. That makes him the "proudest", emphasized team boss Toto Wolff.
His team does right what Ferrari does wrong. The Scuderia experienced another failure weekend, even if Vettel saved seventh place and the car seemed at least somewhat improved with the new chassis. Charles Leclerc's retirement due to a defect was a tough hit. In addition, there was the funk about the right tire strategy, which the participants downplayed after the race in the usual way. The former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher, on the other hand, spoke plainly as a Sky expert: "Sorry, Ferrari, that doesn't work at all. A team that is fighting for the World Cup that doesn't even manage to communicate properly."
Only this year Ferrari is not going to the World Cup at all. Actually only one person does that. Four Hamilton wins in six races of the season, 37 points ahead of Max Verstappen, who has to put up with the role of Mercedes splitter in the Red Bull. Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton's team-mate, finished third behind Verstappen in Spain. Total frustration with the 30-year-old Finn: "Right now I just want to be somewhere else than here." With a World Cup deficit of a whopping 43 points understandable.
Hamilton, meanwhile, was enjoying the moment, raving about one of the best races of his career. 24 seconds ahead of Verstappen, 44 on Bottas, the rest was lapped. "I was in the perfect zone that I always dream of," enthused Hamilton.
Some were reminded of Ayrton Senna, who had experienced a drive like "in another dimension" in qualifying at the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix. "It was beyond my imagination." However, Hamilton did not experience it like Senna. But he was humble and always felt honored to be named in one sentence with drivers like Schumacher, Senna and the five-time champion Juan-Manuel Fangio.
The fact that he himself ultimately decided in the car which tires he wanted to end the race with and voted against the strategists' choice, proves both the undisputed standing in the team and the 35-year-old Brit's understanding of racing. In almost 14 years of Formula 1, Hamilton has matured to become a complete pilot. Once a test drive grouch, he has long known that even tasks that are not fun are part of success. Hamilton has perfected himself.
He has taken 92 pole positions and thus 24 more than Schumacher. With his victory in Spain he overtook Schumacher in terms of the total number of podium places (156: 155). He can set the record of Grand Prix victories in three races - of all places, the Grand Prix in Mugello, where Schumacher's former Ferrari team wants to celebrate its 1000th Grand Prix participation.
In the race before - the Italian Grand Prix in Monza - Hamilton was able to claim the 100th Mercedes victory in Formula 1. "Who should stop this man?" Asked the Swiss tabloid "Blick". Schumacher, who has not been in public since his serious skiing accident at the end of 2013, let alone at a racetrack, and whose successor is Hamilton in the Silver Arrows, may have already suspected it at the time.
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