"It warms my heart": Lewis Hamilton on his former F1 team's resurgence

Lewis Hamilton is delighted to see his former team McLaren get back to winning ways in the championship. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda in Monaco, the Briton praised the Woking team and their drivers.

Lewis Hamilton made his Formula One debut with McLaren in 2007 and is the last driver to clinch a world championship with them back in 2008. Having raced with McLaren since his karting years, the 39-year-old was delighted to see them surge back to their old ways. The Woking team is currently third in the championship and is trailing Ferrari and Red Bull by a narrow margin. Turning around their performance woes in the second half of 2023, the former champions have been on an upward trajectory with no signs of backing down.

Lewis Hamilton reckons Lando Norris has been doing a phenomenal job for McLaren and so has Oscar Piastri. The Briton felt that the Australian driver had a tough start to the season but has been progressing. He labeled the resurgence of his former team to be "inspiring" and hoped that Mercedes join the mix. The Brackley team is currently 88 points behind McLaren, and their closest contest is with Aston Martin.

Praising McLaren and its resurgence through the grid, Lewis Hamilton said:

“I think he [Norris] is doing a great job, Oscar [Piastri] is also doing a really great job as well. He’s just been unlucky in the last couple of races. So excited to see both of them, and how they both progress, but mostly also for McLaren, to see them back up there. I hope we can get closer as well, I think they [McLaren] also have just shown that you can close the gap and you can catch up if the job’s done right. It’s inspired us all to get on it.”

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Lewis Hamilton refrains from predicting final win with Mercedes

With his last win coming in 2021 at the Saudi Arabian GP, Lewis Hamilton has not won a race in the new era of the sport with the ground-effect cars. Despite multiple podiums with Mercedes in 2023, their 2024 campaign has been far from being able to clinch podiums. He believes that despite working towards winning with Mercedes in 2024, it is not a realistic goal.

Upon being asked if he aims at clinching a race win in what is his final year at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton said:

“That's what we're working towards, but it’s not realistic. I don't know how the year is going to evolve. If others plateau and don’t develop and we continue to develop, or if they develop at the same rate as us. I really have no idea but what I can say is we’re continuing to push. I haven’t got a crystal ball so I have no idea how the year is going to end but in terms of how we are working together and how we are continuing to stay focused and motivated, I think that's inspiring.”

In the last eight races, the seven-time world champion has finished ninth thrice, and seventh and sixth twice. He has also had a retirement in the Australian GP but has overall failed to finish higher than sixth place apart from his performance in the sprint. Lewis Hamilton is currently eighth in the drivers' championship, far from his third-place finish in 2023. Mercedes are currently fourth in the championship and are far from the second place they secured last year.