“It felt very much like my old days [karting] at Rye House, starting at the back and coming through – so it was great.
“[It was a] really good balance in the car today, felt a lot better than it was yesterday – particularly Q3 – but it’s just phenomenal for the team.
“It is slightly bittersweet as if we had qualified where we should have yesterday, I think I could have won. Nevertheless, I didn’t think I would have been able to finish P2 today before the race so I’m very happy.”
READ MORE: Russell overjoyed with ‘dream of a weekend’ after claiming first Mercedes pole and win in four months
Mercedes have had a topsy-turvy campaign, with four victories, but also events at which it has fallen away towards the lower reaches of the points-paying positions.
On whether its Las Vegas levels of performance can be sustained across the remaining two Grands Prix, Hamilton replied: “I have no idea! I don’t think anyone in the team knows why we’re as quick as we are this weekend, we’re happy about it, but I think often in the hotter conditions we struggle more.
“Maybe Qatar will be cooler and it’s smooth, at the track we were okay last year, Abu Dhabi maybe less so, but we’ll see.”
