A Barcelona The first double podium of the season arrived for Mercedes, which had not achieved this result since Brazil 2022. It had only collected one podium so far in 2023, with Lewis Hamilton in Melbourne, the third race of the season. Lewis Hamilton at Fanta F1 has one of the highest averages. Despite this, he, like Russell, does not enjoy particular popularity among Fantasy Managers.
A difficult start
Mercedes had already understood the trend from the beginning of the year. The W14, like the previous W13, did not work. Finding yourself with a failing project two years in a row, for a team that has so many trophies under its belt, was a hard blow. After a rather quick decision on the path to take between now and the end of the season the team started working on W14B which debuted in Munich. The updates had already been positively evaluated by the team on that occasion, but a test was needed on a more traditional and complete circuit like the Catalan one.
The test went well, extremely well. Mercedes found themselves second force, overtaking Aston Martin, Ferrari and even Perez, despite driving the invincible RB19, like Max Verstappen. About we have seen the real leap in quality of Mercedes.
Also on this occasion the 7-time world champion prevailed over his teammate with whom he had had an argument after the qualifications, in which the two came into contact which then forced George to start from P12. This didn't stop George from getting to though podium, grinding second after second.
Little trust in Fanta F1
But both Hamilton and Russell, rather than talking about hierarchies, are happier to have a car in their hands that they can finally master. But will it be enough to earn him some trust in Fanta F1? The two drivers are the least chosen with Russell enjoying greater popularity. Only 2,11% of Fantasy Managers chose Russell for the Spanish Grand Prix. In Lewis, it fared even worse, with 1,66% (2.986 users).
One reason may be the price. Lewis has the same price as Leclerc, who is however chosen by 7,10% (12.801 users) of Fantasy Managers despite having an average almost 3 times lower than the Englishman. Another reason may be linked to the updates at Mercedes, which were “really” tested for the first time. So little confidence for a Mercedes that is slowly putting the pieces back together after a difficult start.
