Brundle: 'Wolff summed it up perfectly, a fairytale victory'

"What. A. Race. Toto Wolff summed it up perfectly when he described Lewis Hamilton's epic drive as a fairytale victory," Brundle wrote in his column for Sky Sports. The seven-time world champion had to wait more than 2.5 years for another victory in Formula 1. In December 2021 in Saudi Arabia was the last time the Briton crossed the finish line in P1.

A relieved Hamilton

It caused relief for Hamilton. "The relief for Hamilton was clear for all to hear and see with his initially uncontrollable crying and heartfelt radio messages," he said. "The demons of Abu Dhabi 2021, and the lack of victories in the past 56 races in an unwilling car, were to an extent finally extinguished for him and the Mercedes team. It was a tearjerker."

Brundle finds it clever that Hamilton has always kept giving everything in his path towards a 104th victory in the king class of motorsport. "Lewis has somehow found the motivation and dedication, surrounded by much younger drivers, to keep training, learning, travelling, and believing in himself these past two seasons. And when the opportunity arose, he wasn't about to let it go."

Teams hardly diverge

At the head of the field in Formula 1, the differences seem to be getting smaller and smaller, much to the former Formula 1 driver's delight. "He [Hamilton] also became the sixth winner in the 12 races so far this season. We only had three winners in all last season, and I have no doubt that we are in for a truly epic 18 months of F1 racing now, before the all-new 2026 cars appear," Brundle said.