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Lewis Hamilton says that he is in disbelief over his loss of the Australian Grand Prix. The four-time world champion was leading comfortably for the first half of the race, before losing the lead following a virtual safety car deployed to recover Romain Grosjean's Haas.
Hamilton and pitted before the virtual safety car was deployed, and when that when the call came to release the VSC, Vettel had not yet pitted. He was then able to make time up throughout his stop, as the VSC delta did not apply to him while entering the pit-lane.
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Hamilton put the German under pressure for the remainder of the race, but failed to get past, even making a mistake and running over the grass in the process. Speaking after the race, the Briton admits that he doesn't understand how the situation unfolded.
"I really still don’t now understand what’s happened. I did everything I believe that I was supposed to do," Hamilton said. "The Safety Car came out and then I was coming down the straight and all of a sudden, really last minute I was told the Ferrari was coming out. I didn’t know the Ferrari was in.
"I think [I felt] just disbelief was really from that moment until the end, just disbelief. I was hungry to try and recover from whatever the scenario, whether it was a mistake or not. I was risking it, but I could have lost all the points.
"Eventually I think I made the sensible choice. It’s a long, long way in the championship and it’s not all won in one race. That’s what I’m trying to focus on."
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (6)
Login to replyf1ski
Posts: 726
the sound in his voice when vettel popped out of the pits ahead didn't sound like someone who was enjoying tighter racing
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
If someone overtakes you midrace, can you blame him for being pissed in the heat of the moment? Mind, this is Hammy we are talking about. He isnt exactly known for being honest about his actual opinions. He likes close racing, as long as he get away with the win.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Well it was very unfortunate for Hamilton. But the real tragedy is that cars have such a hard time following each other. Otherwise it would have been a very exciting race. Bottas stuck behind Renaults. Verstappen stuck behind Alonso. It was a pretty underwhelming first race of the year.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It didnt look too bad for most cars, but it was certainly the case for the two Merc' cars.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@Calle didn't look bad for most cars? Other than Ricciardo on Hulkenberg, are there any other memorable overtakes? The fact that Bottas was stuck behind a couple of Renaults, Verstappen behind Alonso, Ricciardo not able to make a single proper attempt on Raikkonen, and Hamilton not even have a look at Vettel should suggest something. The race was dreadful in in the sense Monaco can be dreadful. Just look at any other Australian GP prior to 2017. It's usually a pretty good race.
jaybee
Posts: 16
I tend to think it was not having Bottas in the front four that made the difference. Thus, when Kimi pitted first, one of the Mercs could have covered him. Then, when Seb pitted later, the other Merc could have covered him. Overall, this allows for contingencies like safety cars.