Give this Hamilton a car

At this point the ball goes to Mercedes, which for some time now has been giving the sensation of having finally understood (they have), of being able to settle down, of having finished that journey of knowledge of ground effect F1 which has so far seen the Red Bull by Adrian Newey play the role of the only protagonist surrounded by supporting actors in constant difficulty.

They are signals, scattered here and there, but precise and unambiguous clues. The pace of the W14 in the last few races and the excellent driving of Lewis Hamilton. If we take a step back, but only slightly, we just need to return to the curves of the COTA in Austin to find Hamilton ferociously pursuing Max Verstappen in the final laps. And just a few days later the seven-time world champion put together an amazing GP in Mexico City, combining speed, pace and impeccable management of the medium compounds, which allowed him to set the fastest lap of the race on the last lap.

Hamilton is driving excellently this year, outclassing his talented young teammate George Russell on several occasions. It's as if Lewis had suddenly rekindled himself, after a 2022 in which he immersed himself in this new reality, helping the team and having to reset his habits. It wasn't easy to end 2021 as an almost world champion - one lap from the end of the world championship, losing it like that - and find a slow and clumsy Mercedes in your hands.

It must be said that the team directed by Toto Wolff in recent months has not been surprising for its speed of improvement or its ability to suddenly return to being a top team, and in fact it is still there having to defend second place in the Constructors with gritted teeth. against one Ferrari which seems like its exact opposite. However, Mercedes gives the impression of gradually smoothing out all those details useful for returning to the top, and compared to Maranello it enjoys a small advantage: it goes fast, sometimes very fast, when it counts, on Sunday, despite not having the explosiveness of the SF23 on the flying lap.

However, the points are won in the race and the Anglo-Caribbean, once again shining, is the perfect interpreter for Brackley. Spectacular in driving, incisive, expert, and above all brilliant when it comes to managing the tyres, one of his strong points in the years of consecutive victories. In Mexico City he gave a driving lesson to many of his colleagues, demonstrating how much the sensitivity of the handle with the Pirellis matters and how much the rider can make the difference.

This Hamilton has all it takes to be Verstappen's first real challenger, with the additional and non-trivial motivation of having a score to settle with the Dutchman. The three-pointed star must take the final step that will allow it to get closer to Red Bull. The rest can be done by Lewis, who is not among the greatest of all time by chance, but by merit. Give this guy a car, even if this time we're talking about a guy a few years older.

Antonino Rendina