Why Mercedes' resurgence at the 2023 F1 Spanish GP was 'vindication' for Lewis Hamilton, according to Damon Hill

The Mercedes double podium in the 2023 F1 Spanish GP was "vindication" for Lewis Hamilton because the team had ignored his demands for the car. That's the view of former world champion Damon Hill as he talked about the resurgence of Mercedes on the F1 Nation podcast.

Lewis Hamilton was very disappointed after the first race of the season where it became evident that the Mercedes was just too far behind Red Bull. It was at that point that the driver talked about how he had suggested a few changes to be made to the car for this season but those opinions were somehow shot down.

After the disastrous first race, the team decided to change the car concept which culminated with the introduction of sidepods to the car in Monaco. In the very next race, Mercedes were miles ahead of Aston Martin and Ferrari in the race as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell secured P2 and P3 respectively.

Talking about the team's resurgence, Damon Hill felt that the result was a vindication of sorts for Hamilton as he had suggested changes that were shot down. He said:

“They’ve gone down a different road, as they said they would do if it was quicker. Although James Allison said you can’t just copy other people, you’ve got to know where you’re going. So it’s maybe this has unlocked more potential, but whether it’s able to unlock as much potential as it needs to beat Red Bull is questionable, because I think they’re stuck with the fundamental chassis that they’ve got underneath."

He added:

“But to hear Lewis say ‘I’ve enjoyed driving the car’ that’s a good sign. It’s also vindication for him because he’s been saying: ‘I told you, we should have done something earlier’ and they’ve gone and done what he’s been pleading with them to do and they’ve seen some progress so well done Lewis.”

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Lewis Hamilton's teammate bashed for collision between Mercedes drivers

Talking about the race weekend in Spain, Lewis Hamilton's teammate George Russell was bashed by Le Mans racer Richard Bradley on the On Track Podcast for the collision between the two drivers during qualifying. Talking about the collision, Bradley said:

"What happened in qualifying with Lewis was just unforgivable. Unforgivable. See, there is absolutely no way that he wouldn’t have checked his mirrors before he started that lap. You always, always have a check before you’re starting your push lap, and he knew exactly where Lewis was."

Fortunately for the team and the drivers, the damage did not trickle over to Sunday as the two secured a double podium.