Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas “left the door open” for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the opening lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Verstappen overtook both Hamilton and Bottas into Turn 1, using the racing line to move past the Mercedes duo around the outside.
The Dutchman went on to dominate the race and take his ninth victory of the 2021 campaign, with Hamilton following him home in second place.
Hamilton, who was focused on keeping Perez behind on the run to the opening corner, admits he thought Bottas would do the same to Verstappen.
“I’d envisaged it differently, naturally, in the sense that if Valtteri had maybe got a better start then I would have tried to get into his tow,” Hamilton said.
“But obviously I was alongside him, which was good, and then I was just covering my side of the track, making sure no-one could come up the inside.
“I was trying to keep whichever Red Bull I could see in my mirror behind. And I thought Valtteri would be doing the same.
“But obviously he left the door open for Max and Max was on the racing line, so [he] did a mega job braking into Turn 1.
“Because I’m on the inside and on the dirt, there was no hope for me.”
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was left unhappy with the space Verstappen was left into Turn 1, saying his team seemed to “open up the sea” for the championship leader.
Hamilton now sits 19 points behind Verstappen in the standings with four races remaining in the season.
“I naturally feel I need to be winning every race, because we need those extra points, not to lose those points, to try and regain,” Hamilton said on his title race.
“That was the goal going into the last race and the race before that and before that and here this weekend.
“But they’re just too quick, so [we’re] giving it absolutely everything we’ve got but unfortunately it’s not enough at the moment to compete with them.”
