Lewis Hamilton finished second at the French Grand Prix on Sunday – his best performance in the 2022 season so far. The Mercedes driver now has recorded four consecutive top-three finishes and would look to get his first win in the upcoming races. 

While Hamilton came second, his teammate George Russell passed Sergio Perez of Red Bull following a late restart to give Mercedes its first double podium of the year.

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“That’s an incredible result for the team, great job George,” said Hamilton, who estimated sweating out “about three kilos” as track temperatures hit 51 degrees Celsius (124 Fahrenheit) at the Paul Ricard Circuit in southeastern France.

Lewis Hamilton is sixth in the Drivers Standings with 127 points. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leads the charts with 233 and is followed by Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. 

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For Hamilton, the 2022 season has been much tougher than the others. He battled an under-performing car,  porpoising and bouncing to finish on the podium.

The 37-year-old’s ‘faultless delivery’ has impressed Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who showered praise on the seven-time world champion. 

Wolff after the French GP said that Hamilton has been fighting the car. 

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“The situation is very different than when you are fighting for a title. Then it’s 100% of concentration to fight the other guy. This is different because we are fighting the car at the moment, we are trying to motivate and energise the team and in the factory,” Wolff said. 

Hamilton lay on his back in the cool-down room as Russell watched a replay of the action.

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“By Lap 20 I was like, ‘I really could do with a drink,’” Hamilton said. “Maybe the water evaporated.”

Hamilton’s first win with Mercedes came in Hungary in 2013. H e’s won a record eight times at the Hungaroring, twice as many as Michael Schumacher, and F1 races there next week.

“I hope the car feels good there,” Hamilton said. “I so love that track.”