Lewis Hamilton admits he felt "overwhelmed" to claim a podium at the Canadian Grand Prix after a strong turn of race pace from Mercedes. The Briton was able progress from his fourth-place grid slot to take the final spot on the podium, passing Alpine's Fernando Alonso in the race. Mercedes' strategy calls allowed the team to take third and fourth, with George Russell finishing behind Hamilton. Speaking after the race, Hamilton said he was "ecstatic" with a podium finish, and paid tribute to the background work being undertaken by the Silver Arrows. "It's quite overwhelming to get this third place," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 . "It's been such a battle this year with the car and as a team, but we continue to say vigilant and focused and never giving up, and that's something I'm so proud of and I'm inspired by my crews. "I'm ecstatic. As I said, coming into this weekend I didn't expect my second podium of the year, so this feels really special, especially in where I got my first Grand Prix win. I love it here in Montreal."
Hamilton urges Mercedes to keep pushing after Canada pace
The team's Canadian GP result is the fourth time that Mercedes have claimed a '3-4' race result in 2022, with their consistent points-scoring now putting them just 38 points behind Ferrari. The Silver Arrows duo showed strong race pace in Montreal by swiftly getting ahead of the Alpines and keeping within touching distance of Red Bull and Ferrari after the Safety Car period. Speaking after the race, Hamilton seemed surprised at the W13's race pace, but was hopeful that the pace improvement was a sign of things to come. "They [Red Bull and Ferrari] are a little bit too quick for us at the moment and I was giving it everything," he explained. "We're getting closer, so we've just got to keep pushing and eventually we'll hopefully be in a fight with these guys. "I could just about see them in the end, thanks to the Safety Car. "Honestly our pace was quite good, particularly the second phase of the stint, and we did a lot of work back here and in the simulator to get the set-up right."
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