Lewis Hamilton drove a ‘tremendous very clean, very faultless race’, states Mercedes director

Mercedes director James Allison has lauded Lewis Hamilton's performance at the 2023 F1 Australian GP.

The seven-time world champion started the race in P3 but moved up a spot after his teammate suffered reliability issues.

The Silver Arrows had a bittersweet outing in Melbourne last weekend, with Hamilton finishing P2 and George Russell suffering a reliability issue. The seven-time world champion drove a brilliant race amid all the chaos at Albert Park, maneuvering his car brilliantly despite the treacherous conditions.

The boy from Stevenage is getting closer to ending his winless streak, having failed to win a single race for the first time in his career in 2022. His efforts were lauded by James Allison, who was brought back into the team last year.

Allison spoke about Lewis Hamilton's performance in Australia in the Mercedes post-race debrief:

"Lewis drove a tremendous very clean, very faultless race. Brilliant first lap, good start and lovely battle in those first few corners with Verstappen and thereafter just a calm, controlled race under very tricky conditions where it would have been very easy to overstep what you ask of the tyres and then send them off into a sort of death spiral with graining."

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Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen has flipped around, claims F1 pundit

According to F1 analyst Ted Kravitz, the dynamics between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have completely changed this season. Kravitz suggests that Verstappen's current championship-winning form, combined with his dominant race car, has made him more careful in race situations.

Kravitz notes that from 2014 to 2020, when Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes had the most superior car on the grid, Hamilton tended to take a more conservative approach, while Verstappen was often the driver who aggressively tried to shake up the championship order. Hamilton was more cautious, allowing Verstappen to be the driver who would go all out.

Since the aerodynamic regulation changes in 2022, the dynamic between the two drivers has been reversed, with Red Bull's domination. As a result, the seven-time world champion finds himself in a more defensive position and often attempts to interrupt Verstappen's momentum.

Ted Kravitz spoke about Verstappen and Hamilton on the Sky Sports F1 podcast:

"We now have, with Max Verstappen with a championship to think about, a complete flip in the seasons... the Mercedes-Lewis Hamilton seasons from 2014-2021."

"When Hamilton's been going for the championship. He knows he's got the fastest car and needs to play it safe. And you've got Verstappen, challenging him, and wanting to get in there. It's completely flipped, hasn't it?"

However, with Baku's track likely to suit Red Bull more than Mercedes, it will be interesting to see how Hamilton fares.