Hamilton denies he was ‘playing tactics’ during Q3

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton denies that he was using tactics during Q3 to secure pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hamilton appeared to drive slowly down the pit lane and around the circuit as he prepared for his final lap, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez behind.

Although Verstappen crossed the line prior to the chequered flag being waved to mark the end of the session, team-mate Perez failed to do so in time.

Hamilton took pole, beating Valtteri Bottas to the top spot, with Verstappen ending up four-tenths of a second behind in third.

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“It’s so silly man, everyone was going slow,” Hamilton said. “I mean, do you not watch everybody else?

“I don’t understand. Do you think I could have gone quicker and then been just closer to Valtteri? Everyone was doing a slow out-lap, so it was no different really to any other lap.

“Of course every time we go out we’re trying to prepare the tyres and keep them cooler because they get so hot through the lap.

“So I’m not playing any tactics. I don’t need to play no tactics man, I know what I’m doing in the car and I’m fast enough I don’t need to have tactics.

“So those that are making the comments clearly don’t know anything about the job that we’re doing here, which is probably why they’re not driving here.”

Red Bull cooled the situation after the session, with its team principal Christian Horner saying it had “no major issue” with how Hamilton completed his out-lap.

Hamilton is aiming for his ninth win at the Hungaroring on Sunday, which would set a new record for the most victories by a driver at the same grand prix.