Hamilton Admits Possibility Of Stealing The Second Place In Championship From Perez

Monday, 30 October 2023 at 22:00

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Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton said he will give a shot to achieving second place in the Drivers' Championship after catching Sergio Perez by 19 points following the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton had a ten times better race compared to the home hero Sergio Perez, who collided with Charles Leclerc in the first corner of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

While Perez had to retire his car after the first lap, the seven-time World Champion finished the race in second place and also snatched one point for the fastest lap of the race.

By collecting 19 points during the Mexico City Grand Prix, Hamilton closed the gap to Perez to 20 points. After being asked about the runner-up position in the Drivers' Championship, Hamilton told the media:

"It’s mostly dependent on Checo’s weekends really. They have the championship-winning car. He’s just been unfortunate, I think, in some scenarios."

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Looking at the last four races, Perez retired in Japan, then collected only one point in Qatar, had a decent result in the United States, and retired again in Mexico City.

Hamilton scored fifth in Japan, retired in Qatar after colliding on the first lap, then was disqualified in the United States and finished second in Mexico.

"Obviously I’ve lost quite a lot of points in the last two races but he lost points today. So it’s swings and roundabouts."

The Mercedes driver thought he lost the battle for second place in the Drivers' Championship after the gap to Perez increased to 39 points following the race in Austin.

"I think coming into the weekend, having lost points last week, I didn’t think I would really be in shooting range particularly but after today, yeah, we’ll just give it our best shot."

Sergio Perez seems to have a lot of pressure on his shoulders to finish second in the Championship. Hamilton, on the other hand, does not seem to be too bothered

The low-pressure mindset might be a competitive advantage of the seven-time World Champion going into the three remaining race weekends of the season.

"Honestly, it’s not going to make a big difference to my life, whether I come second or third. It’s more important to get the team second in the Constructors and so that’s what I’m focused on. It’s a bonus if we get second in the Drivers."