Hamilton admits he was 'too friendly' at Turn 1
- Published on 28 Apr 2019 19:45
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- By: Coilin Higgins
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton believes he was "too friendly" with teammate Valtteri Bottas as the pair went wheel to wheel into Turn 1 at the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Hamilton managed a great start from second to challenge poleman Bottas into the first corner, but Bottas held onto the lead.
Hamilton had to make do with second despite a late charge to take the lead from his teammate, after Bottas managed to take the victory and grab his second win of the season.
“I didn’t get the job done in qualifying, he did,” Hamilton said. “And in the race I was too friendly at turn one and basically gave it to him. He drove a fantastic race, made no mistakes, so he deserved the win this weekend.”
This is the fourth one-two result for Mercedes out of four races in 2019, with both Hamilton and Bottas taking two wins each. Hamilton felt however that he was not his best and struggled throughout the weekend in Baku.
“Definitely this is not our strongest race in the season,” added Hamilton. “This has always been a bit of a difficult race for me.I just struggle here.
"There’s certain races I struggle at compared to others. I can’t really point it out. I got quicker at the end but it was too late by then.”
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Replies (10)
Login to replyf1dave
Posts: 782
Sure Hamilton, we all believe that it was you who "gave him the win".
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Lewis was as friendly as a teammate should be with their teammate early in the year. That being said, he did not lose the race there. He had lots of chances to catch up and fight.
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
I dont think that's what he was saying - it was more about the first corner...
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Another "I let you win!" comment from Hammy. No surprises there. 'sides, what would he have done? Any "less friendly" maneuver would've lead to them both hitting the wall, which would've been very silly.
2GRX7
Posts: 108
...Hammy meant that he'd given Bottas the corner-not the race win. We all know that when Hammy has the corner on the racing line, he'll push the driver on his outside into either braking to stay on the track and loose a position, or running off the track and loosing several more positions. The only driver that would have forced the issue and taken them both out would have been Massa!
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Well yes, I am aware this is what he meant, and my point on that topic remain. Had he been "less friendly", they'd end up on a double date with Ms. Wall. I would however disagree that only Massa would've taken him up on the date offer, Rosberg during his last year was very good at responding to Hammy's tougher moves. Spain was a great example of that.
2GRX7
Posts: 108
Yes-during Rosbergs' last year, he MAY have taken the fight to hammy depending on where he was in the championship. In other instances, he'd do whatever it took to force Hammy as far off the racing line (or track) as possible (Spain, Austria), but do you really think if Hamilton forced the line, Bottas wouldn't have gotten out of it? Well, ok- I just don't think Bottas sees the "red mist" like Rosberg did.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I mean, there was no may there, he did. He did in Spain, in Hungary, in Austria. I'm not sure Bottas can see the red mist, as you say, but I don't think he could've avoided it if Hammy went less nice. They were already very close to the wall, had Hammy been less nice, they'd no doubt be in the wall, with or without Bottas joining in on it.
f1ski
Posts: 726
Bottas should call Rosberg have him make a comment on this. Mercedes can afford a double DNF in Barcelona. Ferrari should pay him to chime in that would get lewis to a boil.
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
It was a race that, given his start, he would have had every right to fight flat our in that corner - the key difference is he didn't - that's how you become a multiple WDC. Any discussion around fastest etc is pointless, Bottas had a good lead in equal machinery - any subsequent attack would inevitably had resulted in a similar turn one situation - it's not necessary at this point in the champs. Bigger question, as is so often the case now, is Ferrari not quite getting it right again.