Toto Wolff (Mercedes' team principal) called
Lewis Hamilton a true professional after the most recent sprint race weekend at
Shanghai International Circuit.
As has been a trend with all race weekends of the season for Lewis Hamilton so far, the 2024
Chinese Grand Prix was yet another rollercoaster.
The seven-time World Champion started the weekend with a performance that exceeded everyone's expectations when he managed to
put his car on the front row during qualifying for the sprint race in mixed conditions.
After the
19 laps of the Sprint race, the 39-year-old crossed the finish line in second place and brought home his team's best result of the 2024 season.
However, the Briton wasn't happy with how his car felt during the sprint race, so he decided to
change his setup ahead of the qualifying.
The problem was that the new setup wasn't much better, and Hamilton really struggled to slow his car into turn 14, which resulted in a mistake that already put him
out of qualifying in Q1.
After starting the race from P18, the seven-time World Champion managed to climb nine positions up the order into P9
despite the worst understeer in his life.
After the race, he confessed to the media that he didn't enjoy it at all, but in spite of everything, the 39-year-old seemingly maintained a very good mood throughout the whole weekend.
Speaking to Servus TV, the
Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, suggested he was surprised how his driver managed to keep such a good mood. He said:
"Lewis is in a surprisingly good mood. I don't know if it's the knowledge that he will go somewhere else next year. But it's not like him at all. He's a true professional."
What might have helped lift Hamilton's spirits was probably the result of the Saturday Sprint race. Moreover, he has something to look forward to as Mercedes plans to introduce new upgrades during the upcoming sprint race weekend in Miami.