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Lewis Hamilton drove his Mercedes brilliantly to finish P2 at the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. This is his second podium of the season after Australia, and while the performance can be attributed to the largely-improved Mercedes W14 and the seven-time world champion's skills, fans seem to have found a completely different reason for the same.
Lewis Hamiton has been rumoured to be dating Colombian singer and three-time Grammy winner Shakira, with whom he was seen on a boat back during the Miami GP weekend. After Hamilton jokingly mentioned earlier during the Spanish GP weekend that he would like to be with a "Latina" (South American), rumors of the two celebrities dating have only increased.
Interestingly, Shakira was also spotted on the circuit after the end of the race, since she currently is in Barcelona. While she might be there just to enjoy the race, fans on social media thought that her presence was the reason why Lewis Hamilton pushed his car to P2.
One fan wrote:
"Makes sense why Lewis is driving well today."
"Shakira can you get on Lewis's radio for a second like that one scene from the f1 fanfic book I'm trying to see something," another tweeted.
"Lewis is doing the f1 equivalent of "this ones for you baby" for Shakira," a fan wrote.
Lewis Hamilton looking forward to battling Red Bull by the end of the season
Whether finishing P2 and remaining competitive throughout the race was related to Shakira or not, Mercedes' performance in Spain was good enough proof that the W14 has, in fact, developed quite a bit from how they were at the start of the season with their new upgrades in the sidepod design.
During his post-race interview with Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton was asked if the team will be strong enough to get in touch with the dominant performance that Red Bull has shown in the season until now. Hamilton admitted that the Silver Arrows are still quite far behind the Austrian team, but it might be possible nearing the end of the season, or 2024.
"I think this is a bit too quick in the moment, but we're working at it. We working at it. So just one step at a time. And if I mean, we can get close by the end of the year. That would be awesome, but if not next year."
Hamilton is currently fourth in the drivers' standings, 12 points behind Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.
