Lewis Hamilton declares 'the hunt is on' after Mercedes' Melbourne improvement

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton declares 'THE HUNT IS ON' after Mercedes' Melbourne improvement

The seven-time world champion is buoyed by his podium finish at Albert Park

Stuart Hodge

Monday 3 April 2023 11:02 Updated: 13:40

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Lewis Hamilton has declared "the hunt is on" in a social media post following the Australian Grand Prix.

Mercedes showed much-improved pace from the opening two races with George Russell leading the race and in hunt of a race victory before his engine caught fire and Hamilton breaking the team's podium duck for the season with a P2 finish behind Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman is well on his way towards a third consecutive title after a blistering start to the campaign but Hamilton, who looked and sounded uncharacteristically despondent in the opening two races, now feels like Mercedes has turned up to the party.

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Shortly after being doused with champagne on the podium, in a clear message to rivals, he took to Instagram to write: "The hunt is on."

Hamilton's delight was clear on team radio at the end of the race, as he exclaimed joyously: "Mega job guys, what an appeasing result. Thank you so much.

"So, so proud of you all. Let's keep pushing, let's keep pushing!"

Hamilton: It was very unexpected

In the post-race press conference, Hamilton admitted that he was surprised by the result but says the team gained confidence from a strong qualifying session, with Russell second and Hamilton third on the grid.

"It was very unexpected," said Hamilton. "Just coming into the weekend, but obviously, also getting a second and third and qualifying yesterday really blew us all away and a huge boost of energy throughout the team.

"So that meant today we had a shot at, you know, trying to at least overtake Max for a second. And so, we both got ahead, which was amazing, to have a Mercedes one-two for a second.

"Obviously he came sailing by at one stage, but it was a really entertaining race and I had a really good battle with Fernando, which was awesome."