It will soon be time to focus on F1 at Monza 2022, but first:
Lewis Hamilton scolded Mercedes over the radio.
He claimed they cheated on him – but after an hour or so of anger, he apologized.
– I don’t even remember what you said, he says.
Lewis Hamilton earned a winning position at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. He had medium tires in the car and was looking for the lead, but then Valtteri Bottas was standing on the start/finish line with a technical flaw and the safety car went out. Max Verstappen, who was leading the race, instigated. Hamilton’s teammate, George Russell, who was third, did the same.
But Hamilton stayed on the right track. He had the lead, but on the reboot he had the wrong frame. We’ve often mentioned what it looked like when the Abu Dhabi toilet was set for 2021.
Hamilton’s wrong strategy
With his opponent pitting and taking soft tires, he was aware that he had the wrong strategy.
In the same way Verstappen was well aware of the choice he made.
– I had solid tires and was sure I would be able to manage them, even if we were a little slower. Then came the safety car that they would have passed me if I hadn’t changed the tire. That’s why I switched to soft tyres, Verstappen said.
George Russell did the same, and Lewis Hamilton, who still had the medium tires, was overtaken and sped away. He scolded his team over the radio – but apologized after the race.
– I really thought we could get a double victory, especially after the difficult year we had, it’s been ups and downs and we haven’t won since Brazil last year. We had a chance now, but then the safety car came along. I was about to lose it, there was a lot of emotion and I apologize to the team, Hamilton tells Sky.
– I don’t even remember what you said. For a moment I lost focus. But I think they know there are a lot of feelings.
The multi-champion was frustrated and disappointed that the chance to win turned out to be fourth. At the same time, he wants revenge, perhaps already in Monza in a couple of days.
– There are a lot of good things that we will take with us. It could be the same in the future and we will continue to breathe in their necks and we will achieve that victory, says Hamilton.
Chasing victory during Formula 1 at Monza 2022
Team boss Toto Wolff was not bothered by Hamilton’s actions.
– I’d rather take the chance and risk a win over third and fourth places, he tells Sky magazine.
– We could have brought Lewis to the pit and we lost the center of the ring to Verstappen and got hit. We could go in the pits and get beaten up, so it was worth the risk with George.
The stops were central to the result #ditchwith the # Fit4F1 The pit crews were kept busy in the race 👇👇# F1 # Formula 1 # Pirelli #Pirelli150 @ F1 pic.twitter.com/vvn8yXHZbp
– Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) 4 September 2022
Max Verstappen won the race and the Red Bull driver now has more than 100 points for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished third. Mercedes George Russell finished second. This was the first time this year that George Russell did not finish third, fourth or fifth.
Another thing to get rid of is that Mercedes is now a threat to Ferrari in the constructors’ championship. This weekend, it was Carlos Sainz who encountered things that don’t exist. Ferrari forgot a tire when entering the pit, passed it under yellow flags and a penalty for colliding with Fernando Alonso in the Alps in the pits.
If Ferrari does not tighten up, the team will lose second place in the World Constructors’ Championship.
Mercedes closes gap to Ferrari 👀#ditch # F1 pic.twitter.com/ZJ9qgSUlPv
– Formula 1 (@F1) 4 September 2022