Hamilton felt in ‘a different zone’ on way to F1 Spanish GP win
Lewis Hamilton says he felt like he was in a “different zone” en route to winning Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Hamilton led from lights-to-flag to concert pole position into a supreme and dominant 88th career victory to close in on Michael Schumacher’s all-time wins record.
The six-times world champion enhanced his championship lead over Max Verstappen to 37 points in the process and surpassed Schumacher’s tally for the most podium finishes in F1 with 156.
"I was just in a daze out there. I was in a different zone, I felt really good," Hamilton said.
"Fantastic effort from the team, but God, it felt good out there today. It was a real surprise, because we had this problem with the tyres. Management was very, very good.
"That's ultimately our understanding of what happened last week, that we brought into this weekend, has inevitably enabled us to do what we did today
"I didn't even know it was the last lap at the end. That's how zoned in I was. I was ready to keep going.”
Hamilton was surprised Mercedes avoided a repeat of its tyre woes from the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone as he was able to record a comfortable victory.
The Briton ultimately persuaded Mercedes to fit his car with Medium tyres instead of its original plan to switch onto Softs for his second and final stint. Hamilton said a lot of studying into the tyres over the weekend prompted his message to Mercedes.
"It's something I studied very hard before the race, understanding what tyres we were going to be using and what strategy we were going to do," Hamilton explained.
"As I came to understand, I could make the tyres last longer than we had planned. I was even looking potentially going for a one-stop, but I think the strategy we have was just right.
"At the end, there was no need to take a risk of going on the soft tyre. I had a fresh, brand new medium tyre that I think was best.
"I just want to say a big, big thank you to all of the guys back at the factory, through this really difficult time, for everyone in the world just to continue on, and keep pushing."
