Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion, said he ‘was back to being young’ as most of the 338,000 spectators at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve gave him a rousing ovation for a P3 finish in the Canadian GP on Sunday. The 37-year-old added that he and Mercedes are optimistic of closing the gap on the big teams – Red Bull and Ferrari – this year. 

Montreal was Hamilton’s second podium finish this year – first one came in Bahrain. The British driver, who has struggled with his car for most of the season, is sixth on the drivers’ championship table with 77 points. Max Verstappen, the Canadian GP winner, leads the charts with 175. 

While Hamilton has very little, close to nill, chance of beating the likes of Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc points wise, he surely can take the P3 on Sunday as big boost to his 2022 campaign. 

Also read: Max Verstappen speaks on Carlos Sainz pressure after tough Canadian GP win

The weekend did not start so well for him. He had been complaining of back pain and risk to health due to porpoising. After struggling through the practice sessions, the Briton managed to qualify fourth, behind Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, on Saturday. 

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the team had raised the ride height on its cars to make them more drivable and eliminate the “porpoising” effect. 

Lewis Hamilton, on Sunday, not only managed to keep his competition at bay but also beat his teammate George Russell only the second time this season. 

Also read: Formula 1: Why Sebastian Vettel was booed at Canadian Grand Prix

“It feels great to be amongst the battle and at the end there I was keeping up with these guys. It does give me and the team a lot of hope,” Hamilton said.

“The potential is truly there if we can get the setup right and I think that’s been the most difficult thing this year.”

The seven-time world champ, who had finished fourth in Azerbaijan, seemed optimistic about the W13’s progress. 

“The women and men back at the factory are working hard weekend in, weekend out and it’s so difficult for us all working and working and not always seeing progress. It’s been such a difficult year for me personally in terms of the car. Qualifying was emotional for me and back in the garage we were like ‘wow, this is beautiful for us’.”

Now he moves to his home turf – Silverstone, where the drivers will compete on July 3.