F1 News
Hamilton: "I was fighting with the spirit of Niki"
Lewis Hamilton has admitted the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix was one of, if not the hardest race he's ever been a part of, saying he was "fighting with the spirit of Niki".
Hamilton won the race from pole holding off Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel to claim a third win of the season. However, it didn't come without difficulties as the Brit was concerned for most of the race with his tyres, regularly on the radio to his team.
Following the race, the Brit and Championship leader admitted he really had to dig in to get the win as well as paying tribute to Niki Lauda.
"That was definitely the hardest race I've had but nonetheless I really was fighting with the spirit of Niki - he's been such an influence in our team and I know he will be looking down and taking his hat off. I was trying to stay focused and make him proud that it's been the goal all week and we truly miss him," said Hamilton.
"I've not driven on empty tyres since 2009 when McLaren left me out in Shanghai for such a long time. It's great crowds here and I hope it wasn't boring.
"It was intense I was never going to come in, I learnt the hard way, I wasn't going to come in whether I crashed or finished. Ultimately it was the wrong tyre, if you look at my back tyre we touched at the chicane but the team has done an incredible job and I'm so proud to be a part of it and I hope I can continue to do well."