Mercedes convinced Hamilton would have won Barcelona GP without VSC help

Opting for a three-stop strategy against Mercedes' two-stopper, Hamilton made significant gains on his former team during his middle stint - lapping around two seconds quicker behind the Mercedes duo Russell and Kimi Antonelli before the Silver Arrows took their final stop.

Hamilton was in the lead by the time of Alonso's heartbreaking DNF at his home race - albeit with a pit stop still to go - but the subsequent VSC allowed the seven-time world champion to take that final stop and emerge still in front of Russell and Antonelli on Lap 41 with fresher tyres. The Ferrari driver blasted off into the distance to take victory by nearly 20 seconds.

Speaking at the post-race press conference, Russell hinted at Hamilton's superior pace when asked if Mercedes themselves had maximised their potential, with Antonelli later suffering a DNF due to yet another power unit-related failure. “I’m not sure. We need to look at it afterwards, to be honest.

Russell and Antonelli had become locked in something of a squabble in the build up to that all-important VSC, and while the former believes it did play a role in allowing Hamilton to stay ahead, the 28-year-old again noted his former teammate's impressive pace all throughout the race.

Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff seemed to agree with Russell's assessment, suggesting it was pointless to speculate where the Silver Arrows would have ended up in Barcelona without the VSC, such was the pace on display from Hamilton.

Speaking to media, including GPblog, Wolff said: “You can't say it because Lewis was the quickest also afterwards. So, even if we would have come out in front of him, it would have been very tricky to hold him behind.”

Wolff's good friend, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, was also adamant Hamilton would have secured the win in Barcelona regardless of the VSC, pointing to the fact he was on fresher tyres in the latter stages of the race. The only difference, according to Vasseur, would have been Hamilton's margin of victory.

Vasseur told GPblog and other media: “We would have won the race, perhaps with a bit less, but we were also in a good situation with a fresh set of tires at this stage. It was positive for us, but. I don't want to do the calculation of what could have been the race with this or this. But I think we were already in a very good situation.”