Mercedes has revealed that it denied Lewis Hamilton‘s initial request to retire from the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix to avoid his penalty going across to the next round.
Hamilton endured a terrible outing at the Lusail International Circuit as he picked up a puncture and two penalties en route to coming home outside the points in 12th.
The Briton’s second punishment – which he copped due to speeding in the pitlane – all but ruled out his hopes of recovering to score in his penultimate Mercedes race.
Hamilton instructed the team over the radio to “park the car” prior to voicing his intention to stop in the pit box outside the Mercedes garage and “switch off” the W15.
However, Hamilton’s long-term race engineer Peter Bonnington told his driver that doing so would ensure that his penalty would roll over to this weekend in Abu Dhabi.
But having served the drive-through penalty and returned to the track, Hamilton changed his mind about retiring when given the go-ahead and took the chequered flag.
“So, I mean, the race was bad,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told media including Motorsport Week post-race.
“I think the car was sort of difficult for most of them to drive. It just didn’t turn enough.
“When the grip kicks in, the understeer, there are terrible understeer and both of them suffer from that.
“And then [it] comes to that, the poor start, and the pitlane speeding, and it came to a point quite well it almost didn’t make any sense to continue.
“But if you park the car, you’re carrying this five-second penalty into Abu Dhabi.”
Hamilton’s woe no dampener on Mercedes spell
Hamilton, who has secured one podium in nine races, has expressed he is not counting on an upturn in his final appearance with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari.
However, Wolff has denied the challenging run Hamilton has sustained will put a dampener on the huge success he has achieved in his stint with the German marque.
“First of all, with Lewis, we have this amazing partnership that has gone on for 20 years,” Wolff highlighted.
“We’ve won eight Constructors’ Championships and six Drivers’ with him, and I don’t know how many races he won, 80-something. So that’s the overarching feeling.
“I think when I speak to Lewis, that’s something which we are holding dearly.
“Now, these last races, maybe in the whole season, in the last week, was clearly not what we expect.
“That car has a handful to drive on its worst days, like it was today. The moment the grip kicks in, [it] just doesn’t turn. So, we have one more [race] to go.
“We will continue to give it our utmost, and we will celebrate the partnership, the relationship that we had, and those few races will be forgotten quickly. As much as it hurts at the moment.”
READ MORE – Ferrari ‘not worried at all’ about Lewis Hamilton despite F1 Qatar GP woes
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