Martin Brundle believes Lewis Hamilton is driving in an "especially feisty and happy demeanour" after securing second at the Spanish Grand Prix. The seven-time World Champion and his Mercedes team have been on the back foot since F1's newest technical regulations last year, with Hamilton and teammate George Russell put through extensive experimentation programmes at race weekends as the Silver Arrows attempted to overcome its issues. But a significant upgrade package was introduced at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Hamilton finished fourth, before a real representation of the changes was given at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where Mercedes secured a double podium finish. Assessing the Brackley-based outfit's weekend in his Sky Sports F1 column, Brundle said: "Russell had a lot of adventures over the weekend, including significant high-speed contact in qualifying with his team-mate Hamilton after a misunderstanding, a trip through the gravel going to the grid, and running wide in the first corner of the race but being exonerated for gaining places by using the escape road. "It was a very good start which gained most of those places. Russell drove a fine race to take the final step on the podium. "Hamilton, who is driving with an especially feisty and happy demeanour lately, was a further eight seconds up the road for a solid second place and double Mercedes podium."
Brundle Mercedes warning
Despite Mercedes' uptick in performance, the W14 remains no match for Red Bull's dominance. Max Verstappen has secured five victories in the first seven races with all but the Australian Grand Prix coming with a convincing margin to the next non-Red Bull competitor. Firing a warning to Mercedes, Brundle added: "Before we get too excited, they were 24 and 32 seconds, respectively, behind a cruising Verstappen. "But at least it's some hope that the Mercedes sidepod upgrade did some good."
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