Hamilton: “Manufacturers’ championship is most important”

The Formula 1 world title is every driver’s dream, and Lewis hamilton has the opportunity to write history this season since a new coronation would be his eighth and would make him the only record holder against the seven crowns of Michael schumacher. The spotlight is often on the drivers ‘championship while the constructors’ championship remains in the shadows, but Hamilton is well aware of the importance of the second, especially with regard to the allocation of end-of-year bonuses.

If the Englishman is 21 points behind the leader Max Verstappen after the Sprint Qualifiers for the São Paulo Grand Prix, the gap is even tighter among manufacturers since only two units separate Mercedes and Red Bull at the end of the Saturday race.

“To be really honest, I don’t think of myself”Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 after qualifying, before Mercedes grabbed a point from Red Bull in the Sprint Qualifying. “I just realized that we are only one point ahead in the constructors ‘championship, and that is really the most important. Of course I want to win… I know I want to win the constructors’ championship. pilots, obviously. But that of the teams is so important for the development, with the bonuses that we receive, for all the people who work in the factory. everyone’s acting! “

“The teammates really have to work together to make sure we triumph. Winning at least one of the championships is key. And if we don’t win the drivers’ championship, we at least want to be able to do it for the team and win the championship for the drivers. builders. I’m working in that direction. But it’s getting tough. And you know, Valtteri [Bottas] had no luck at all to get out of the Mclaren in the last race [à Mexico, ndlr]. There are four left, and I hope we give them a hard time. “

The Mercedes driver is in any case impressed by the results obtained by the Silver Arrows while Red Bull has been dominant on many circuits. “I think people don’t realize how well we have done given the pace they have been having since day one”Hamilton said.

“There were the difficulties we had in testing before the season, and then we narrowly won that first race. And there were a few races where I think they didn’t optimize things and probably did made more mistakes than they would like. I think we did a really good job, but at the end of the day we’re not as fast as they are most of the time. “