Christian Horner has labelled Lewis Hamilton’s miraculous escape from the gravel trap in Belgium as ‘lucky’, something his driver, Sebastian Vettel, seems to be without.
On lap 34, the McLaren driver was in discussion with his team deciding on the best time to come in for intermediate tyres. The team warned him not to come in to early, whilst Hamilton believed it was already wet enough – something he would prove just seconds later.
As he entered Rivage, he lost traction which resulted in him going wide. That saw him enter the gravel trap with the tyre wall approaching quickly, however, as Lewis suggested after the race, ‘the Lord’s hand was definitely over him then’. His MP4-25 brushed the tyre wall, but the momentum allowed him to re-join the track, still in the lead.
In reaction to the incident, Horner said: “How lucky was Lewis to drive in and out of the gravel?
“Sometimes you ride your luck and he’s had a bit of that this year.
“If that barrier had been one metre closer he’d have been sitting watching the rest of the race from there [the pits].”
The Red Bull team principal went on to congratulate the Brit for driving a ‘good’ race where he finished ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber. In the process he jumped the Australian to take the lead of the championship.
“As I say, you have to ride your luck sometimes, but fair play to him he drove a good race,” added Horner.
