Lewis Hamilton says Bahrain win "proved people wrong"

Lewis Hamilton left the Bahrain Grand Prix in the lead of the championship standings after picking up the 96th win of his Formula 1 career. However, the race wasn't the customary Mercedes domination that fans have grown accustomed to. Rather, the victory came after a fierce battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, where the latter edged out the Dutchman to take the checkered flag by a mere 0.745 seconds.

Lewis Hamilton fended off high-flying Max Verstappen in the dying stages of the race, despite having a slower car at his disposal. Speaking about the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton said his performance proved doubters wrong. Formula 1 experts and fans have put his achievements in the sport down to the dominant Mercedes machinery in recent years.

📺👀 All of us in those final laps 😅 pic.twitter.com/xu92PWWVB2

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 30, 2021

Speaking about the race, Hamilton said:

“I think [last Sunday’s race] was definitely a blessing, perhaps in disguise. There’s always a chance, opportunities to prove people wrong, and I like to think that was definitely one of them. I hope there are many opportunities in the future to be able to show what I was able to do [in Bahrain] also.”

This has to be the toughest title fight: Lewis Hamilton

This season is gonna be 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/3owHXB1XxI

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 30, 2021

When questioned if the 2021 Formula 1 season has the potential to host one of his toughest title fights, Lewis Hamilton said:

"This has got to have started as one of the toughest, if not the [toughest]. I think Red Bull’s pace is incredibly strong, as you could see".

Speaking about the areas in which the Red Bull car is better than the Mercedes, Hamilton said:

“We can’t match them in qualifying right now. That’s a big step for us. Obviously, I thought we could get closer within the race – but that was a little bit too close for my liking. The thing is, we just don’t know how much better they’ll be in other places that we go to... Maybe our car’s better in other places than it is here, or maybe it’s worse – we’ll wait and find out."

Fastest car or not, Lewis Hamilton has shown that he can defend his position from anybody on the grid. At this early juncture of the season, it is tough to identify a pecking order, but Formula 1 fans can expect a competitive season that will go to the wire.