"It was one of the best feelings I've had in a long, long time in terms of just focused and no mistakes," says Hamilton after 88th F1 win
Monday 17 August 2020 06:31, UK
Lewis Hamilton said he felt as though he had been in a "different zone" as he reflected on the "awesome" feeling of driving his Mercedes to a dominant victory in the Spanish GP.
The six-time champion claimed a fourth win in six races this season in a runaway success at Barcelona to increase his championship lead over Max Verstappen, who finished a distant second, to 37 points.
After crossing the line to take his fifth victory at the Circuit de Catalunya, a surprised Hamilton said on the radio: "I was in a different zone - I didn't even realise it was the last lap!"
Hamilton said later he was "just in a daze out there" as he came to terms with a scale of dominance that even Mercedes had not expected against Verstappen's Red Bull.
"After the last race I looked and Max was second in the first race and if he didn't have the DNF he would have only been 12 points behind me," said Hamilton to Sky Sports F1. "So it's a lot closer than people think. In the race they are generally right with us.
"Today though I felt like I was in such a different head space in the car - it was awesome.
"It was one of the best feelings I've had in a long, long time in terms of just focused and no mistakes. Just being able to deliver each lap. It was the most beautiful feeling of just flowing lap by lap."
In track temperatures of over 40 degrees, and on a circuit featuring some of the fastest corners in the sport, all 20 drivers were tested to a high level in the final leg of 2020's second triple header of grands prix.
But Hamilton still rose above the field.
Former team-mate turned Sky F1 pundit Nico Rosberg described the drive as a "masterclass", while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said Hamilton was "in a league of his own".
The race winner himself took particular pride from his management of both the crucial start, when he converted pole into a strong lead while team-mate Valtteri Bottas dropped backwards, and then his tyres through the race.
"I'm sure people are sitting on the edge of their seats at the start, and you do all that work in qualifying and it can change within a dodgy start," explained Hamilton.
"I have had that in the past and it really changes your race. So I was very, very conscious and was just trying to be as focused. I practised and practised and practised to make sure I got the perfect start today ad it really was sweet.
"I didn't have to move off line, it was dead straight, and after that it was really about managing the tyres.
"I think I got the settings spot on but I didn't know how quick they [Red Bull] were going to be. We thought that on Friday they were quicker than us so I was trying to get a measure of how during those early laps and awaiting for my tyres to stabilise.
"The after that I was able to just eek out the gap a little bit and make the tyres last longer than even through practice. That was the difference today."
