Lewis Hamilton detailed the tyre choice mistake that enforced a stellar charge through the field in the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Briton started the race second – behind polesitter Max Verstappen – but proceedings were delayed initially by an hour due to heavy rainfall, accompanied by a further 40-minute wait due to a bizarre FIA software glitch.
Hamilton’s car, amongst many others, were afflicted by the anomaly on the formation lap that led to the cars re-entering the pits instead of the race beginning.
When cars returned to the track, Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc had been fitted with dry tyres, with the majority of the field starting on Intermediates, including Verstappen.
Hamilton, along with Leclerc, dropped like stones through the field as a result, but the seven-time World Champion began a mega drive that saw him benefit from a late Safety Car to leapfrog Isack Hadjar to finish third.
After the race, Hamilton, speaking to media, including Motorsport Week, explained that after the second delay, he realised the Scuderia’s miscalculation which effectively nullified any chance of a titanic battle with Verstappen, who went on to take his first win of the season.
“And I said, ‘Look, there was a lot of spray on the laps to the grid.’ And I went into the pit lane, I looked at the ground, I was like, ‘It’s still wet.’ I went to the pit wall and I was like, ‘It’s still wet.’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, but because it’s been so long, it’s definitely going to dry up real quick and maybe we’re already in the crossover.’
“So, anyways, as a team, we ended up taking that soft we ended up taking that Soft and when we were at the end of the pit lane and these two [Verstappen and second-place Andrea Kimi Antonelli] took off their blankets and they’re on Inters, we were in trouble.
“And as we pulled out, all the spray came out the back of Max’s car and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m done. My race is really in trouble.’ So, I mean, he didn’t make it around on the formation lap, so then we just had to stick with it. Like, we’ve made the decision and live with it.
“And I think then, through that, as everyone’s overtaken me, they’re like, ‘We stop,’ because I know we’ve already made another 26 seconds. What’s the difference from that with one minute 40 or whatever I was down? So I was just, ‘Let’s just wait it out for the track to dry.’ And once it did, it felt good that I was catching people.
“The car felt great then after that. Really good pit stops from my guys in the garage and then good strategy. But for us to get back to the podium, I never thought that that was going to be the case.
“But, of course, I’m really, really grateful that we managed to get back here.”
Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari ‘not in denial’ of need for change
Much has been said over the last week about Hamilton’s stance on some of the inner workings at Ferrari, amid rumours regarding the future of Team Principal Fred Vasseur, and ahead of the weekend, the 41-year-old talked about the possible need to structural changes within the Scuderia.
Asked if he feels he has an open channel of communication with those within the team regarding the botched tyre choice, Hamilton continued to convey gratitude to the team, but confirmed a likely post-race enquiry.
“Yeah, of course. Yeah, we’ll definitely have an open dialogue,” he said. “And, you know, I’m really so proud of my team. The mechanics every weekend, just the work they’re putting in, the engineers that accompany here every weekend, the catering, everyone really, really comes and gives it their best. Their heart’s all in the right spot.
“We’ve definitely got areas that we need to improve and we know that, and we’re not in any denial of that. So I think we’ll have a constructive chat, we’ll regroup, we’ll take the positives from this weekend, which the car was really good, and we’ll come back next week fighting.
“I thought today, as I said, was a chance for us potentially to try and fight Max for the win, but maybe we can do that next week.”
Hamilton will now arrive in Singapore for next weekend’s race just 22 points behind George Russell in the Drivers’ Championship, whose title chances took a hammer blow with a late PU failure.
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