Hamilton sympathises with fans frustration at F1 domination

Lewis Hamilton says even he understands Formula 1 fans frustration after claiming his fifth victory in seven races at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton turned in a masterclass drive to dominant Sunday’s race at Spa-Francorchamps as he led every single lap in a largely untroubled cruise to the flag to extend his advantage at the top of the championship to 47 points.

The seventh round of the season was far from a classic and led Red Bull’s Max Verstappen - who spent all 44 laps running a distant third behind the dominant Mercedes duo - to label the race “pretty boring”.

"I can't speak for the fans but, having been a fan growing up and lived in different eras and watching the [Michael] Schumacher era, of course I know what it's like," Hamilton said after the race.

“I feel exactly the same as Max; it wasn’t the most exciting,” he added. “I enjoy myself in the car. I am still able to enjoy the battle, looking where Valtteri is, what times he's doing, the gaps, trying to get the perfect balance every lap.

“That is still a massive challenge for me but it is just not as fun for people to watch. When you're in it, it's a bit different.

“But of course I would love a wheel-to-wheel race. I hope the next races… the Red Bulls have improved, I really hope we have more of a race. Everyone wants to see us all battling together."

Hamilton continues to close in on Schumacher’s record for the most F1 wins (91) after recording the 89th triumph of his career in Belgium, while he remains well on course to equal the German’s all-time tally of seven world titles this year.

Asked what he did as a fan back in the days of Schumacher’s domination with Ferrari, Hamilton replied: “I would have woken up, had my bacon sarnie and probably watched the start and gone to sleep and then woke up to watch the end.

“If I was watching today I would do the same most likely and watch the highlights because it’s much shorter, unless a friend told me there was a super exciting race on TV so that you watch the whole thing.”

Mercedes has already swept to every single title on offer since the start of 2014 and is heading for its seventh consecutive world championship double in 2020.

And with this year’s cars being carried over into next season before a major regulation overhaul comes into force in 2022, it is likely that Hamilton and Mercedes’ continued run of success will continue for the next 16-18 months.

“I hope that people need to hopefully understand that this isn’t our fault,” Hamilton explained.

“At the end of the day we’re drivers, we’ve come through all the ranks, we’ve earned the positions that we have and we come in weekend in, weekend out, devoted and give absolutely everything to go out there and perform at our best.

“Ultimately the decision makers who design the cars, who set rules and those kind of things, are the ones that you could apply pressure to to ultimately do a better job moving forwards, if that’s possible.

“I’m hopeful that’s what they’re going to do in 2022 and with that new type car, maybe we’ll see a different form of racing where you can follow. Wouldn’t that be something if we can follow closer and have more close races?”