Hamilton bounces back: "This will fill him full of confidence"
F1 News
In a wet qualifying, Mercedes opted to gamble with George Russell and place him on the slick tyres before anyone else. The gamble didn't pay off as Russell skidded off the track into the barrier. Sky Sports pundit Danica Patrick believes this "boosted Hamilton".
Second podium
Hamilton got lucky in Bahrain and with late Red Bull retirements, he got a podium. In Canada, Perez also retired and Leclerc started at the back but Hamilton was on pace with the race leaders. His former teammate Jenson Button says it will fill him full of confidence going into his home Grand Prix.
"This is an important race for him. It's also Lewis' track. He is unbelievably quick here. If he wasn't going to get a good result here, he wasn't going to get it anywhere. This will fill him full of confidence, he found the car that worked for him. He wasn't too far off the leaders," Button said on Sky Sports.
After the gamble, Russell started from P8, with Hamilton up in P4. With Fernando Alonso out of place on the grid, Hamilton overtook the Alpine driver to get into the podium places. Mercedes had to manage Leclerc's pace but they were strong enough to keep ahead. Former Nascar and Indycar driver Patrick has a theory regarding qualifying
"I don't think it took anything away from Russell, but it clearly boosted Lewis. He has been in an incredible mood since qualifying, saying words like beautiful. He's feeling it. That move didn't hurt George but played into his attitude and it showed out there," she said.