Martin Brundle disputes Lewis Hamilton’s claim with reminder about George Russell
“He said post-race that had he started at the front he would have breezed the race"
Martin Brundle has disagreed with Lewis Hamilton’s assertion that he could have won the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix with a better starting position.
Hamilton finished second behind Mercedes teammate George Russell in Vegas.
Russell, from pole position, led the majority of the race apart from briefly when he pitted, enabling Hamilton to take over.
Hamilton blamed his poor qualifying, which left him 10th on the starting grid, for failing to win the grand prix.
But Brundle wrote for Sky Sports: “It was an assured performance from George who is looking very much the real deal in terms of leading that team into the future.
“Hamilton in the sister Mercedes had looked equally fast, albeit with a few trips up the escape road here and there.
“Sadly for him he had two poor laps in final qualifying when the back end stepped out and he would start a lowly 10th.
“He said post-race that had he started at the front he would have breezed the race, which surprised Russell a little.
“There's no doubt Russell had more pace if he'd needed it.
“However, it was a standout drive from Lewis, picking his way through serious contenders up into second place and finishing just seven seconds behind at the flag.
“The fans rightly voted him driver of the day, and he answered some questions a few have been throwing at him lately about being over the hill.”
However, Russell’s performance in Las Vegas will greatly encourage Mercedes that he is ready to fill Hamilton’s shoes as their senior driver in 2025.
Rookie Kimi Antonelli will replace Ferrari-bound Hamilton next year.
“In all the championship noise you must feel sorry for George Russell, who qualified impressively on pole position and simply dominated the race,” Brundle wrote.
“He was so far out front for most of the 50 laps we hardly saw him given the battles raging behind. It was George's third Grand Prix victory.
“Mercedes looked very fast from the opening laps of first practice, and indeed they would lead every session throughout the event.
“Their car simply worked on the cold slick surface, and the team had the good grace to admit they weren't entirely sure why, which is consistent with the unpredictability of that car this year.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
