Hamilton used this to his advantage. He was the first driver to pit for slicks, followed in by Gasly, Hulkenberg, and Fernando Alonso. After the stop, he rejoined in 17th — but more importantly, he had no traffic ahead and could fully exploit the dry tyres.

Ahead of the race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, where Hamilton inherited a race victory from team-mate George Russell last year, the legendary Brit opened up about the work he was doing in the background to bring World Championship glory back to Maranello.