Lewis Hamilton ends his best start to the season in Formula 1, but still not the big favorite

Lewis hamilton it is setting an almost unbeatable start to the season. He has three victories and a second place in the four races contested, which is already the best start in his sports career, tied with 2015 when he had the same results but with full poles. That year he won the third of the seven world championships that he has today.

Lewis Hamilton’s 100 poles in F1: from surprising Alonso in Canada 2007 to suffering with Verstappen in Spain 2021

The seven-time champion, however, doesn’t feel that superior. In general, in fact, it is not: has 94 points by 80 of his immediate pursuer, a Max verstappen that has harassed him in each and every one of the classifications and races. The only Sunday that did not finish with the British first has been the Dutch, with Valtteri Bottas stone guest proving that he is a pilot of a much lower level than them. 2021 is Hamilton’s best start in F1, but so is Verstappen’s, who had never started a year chaining four consecutive podiums.

Hamilton is uncomfortable in this scenario. The shining star of Red bull He is forcing not only him but the whole team not to lose focus, not to fall into conformism after seven years of overwhelming victories, which in the end is good for the competition. Although it already seems that it will be one season to twoIt will not be a bland series of races in which the only emotion is to see if Bottas fails or if Hamilton falls asleep.

OPINION | Alpine’s suicide strategy with Fernando Alonso in Montmeló

The seven-time champion has taken up the challenge in a totally personal way. Proof of this is that it was his decision to change the strategy of the Spanish GP race from one to two stops, whenever I saw that I was the winner. Red bull (Y Alpine, among others) insisted on going to one and when they wanted to react it was too late.

Red Bull, however, has to take a step forward. His clamorous mistake in Montmeló made them yield a victory they had in hand. Christian horner, head of the energy drinks squad, admitted that they had failed and excused their slowness in rectifying the plan envisaged in a technical communication problem which brought Verstappen into the pits when the mechanics had not yet prepared.

In Monaco they will not be able to afford it, if they want to avoid that Hamilton’s distance with Verstappen reaches almost a race advantage.