Martin Brundle has questioned whether Lewis Hamilton would have ‘breezed to victory’ at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as he said after the race had he performed better in qualifying.
George Russell won from start to finish in a dominant race for the young British driver while Hamilton came all the way from 10th to second.
The seven-time world champion appeared to be the faster Mercedes as he raced through the pack and began closing in on Russell in the final few laps.
Hamilton’s speed led to questions on whether he would have managed to beat Russell to win the race had he not messed up in Q3 the day before.
The 39-year-old failed to put in a competitive lap time despite being the quickest driver in the lead up to qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton felt very confident of winning the Las Vegas Grand Prix
REUTERS
Speaking after Sunday’s race, Hamilton suggested that victory would have been comfortable for him had he qualified better.
“If I’d done my job yesterday, it would have been a breeze today [winning],” Hamilton confidently said post-race.
But Brundle raised doubts on whether Hamilton would have had such an easy ride and suggested Russell still had plenty left in the tank.
“It was an assured performance from George who is looking very much the real deal in terms of leading that team into the future,” Brundle wrote for Sky Sports.
“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.”
The win for Russell moved him nine points clear of Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of the final two races.
He could become the first team-mate to finish above Hamilton in a Drivers’ Championship twice if he stays sixth.
Martin Brundle was surprised by Lewis Hamilton’s comments
GETTY
Russell’s win was overshadowed on the weekend though as Max Verstappen secured his fourth world championship.
And Brundle felt ‘sorry’ for the Mercedes driver in what turned out to be a perfect weekend for Mercedes.
“In all the championship noise you must feel sorry for George Russell, who qualified impressively on pole position and simply dominated the race,” Brundle added.
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Lewis Hamilton finished second in the race
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“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.”