In the lead-up to Bahrain’s first race of the 2024 season, Lewis Hamilton was playful.
Before the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton made fun of journalist and F1 TV presenter Lawrence Barretto by teasing him about his preseason predictions.
Despite choosing to prioritize a race pace set-up over one-lap speed, the seven-time world champion was still feeling upbeat ahead of the race on Saturday. He qualified ninth on the grid following a strong pair of free practice sessions.
“Lewis, it’s great to see Mercedes this year with a car that hopefully you can kind of attack and move forward [with],” Hamilton was asked in passing during the pre-race drivers’ parade.
“I understand that you may not be as far up the grid as you would like to be, but are you enthusiastic about the possibilities of what you can accomplish starting in ninth grade today?”
Hamilton gave the question a serious look and said, “Yeah, let me pull you up on something,” rather than answering it. In terms of the predictions, you gave me a low rating.
The Mercedes model then erupted in laughter and exclaimed, “I’m putting you on the spot… just messing with you!” to Barretto. He continued, “You should see his face!” as he turned to face the camera.
The 39-year-old, who is getting ready for his last season as a Mercedes driver, has been feeling more upbeat all weekend. After 12 years with the Silver Arrows, Hamilton will leave to join Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season.
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