Lewis Hamilton says things okay with team after criticising Singapore Grand Prix strategy
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Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes had qualified in the third position, but was left frustrated after his team asked him to start with soft tyres, while he wanted to use mediums instead.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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LONDON – Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton said things were okay between him and the Mercedes team, days after criticising their strategy during the Singapore Grand Prix on Sept 22, in which he finished sixth.
Hamilton had qualified third, but was left frustrated after his team asked him to start with soft tyres, while he wanted to use mediums instead.
“I battled as hard as I could to fight to go on the medium tyres, but the team continued to suggest that I started on the soft... everyone was on medium,” Hamilton said later at an event.
The team’s technical director James Allison acknowledged the mistake, saying it ruined the race for Hamilton, who is sixth in the championship with 174 points, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leads with 331.
However, Hamilton took to social media on Sept 28 to say the soft-tyre strategy was a bold and risky move that could have given him an advantage at the start of the race, but did not pay off.
“I know there has been a lot of chat around the last one and our strategy in Singapore, which just didn’t work. When that happens, it’s natural to be frustrated and easy for me to speak out in that frustration,” the Briton wrote on Instagram.
“Make no mistake, though, things are cool with the team... we’re not afraid of those tricky conversations and challenging moments, which is why we have achieved so much together. We will support each other to the very end.”
Hamilton, 39, said his focus was on the next race, set for Austin on Oct 20. Mercedes have promised a “substantial” car upgrade by then.
Allison said in his post-Singapore GP debrief: “We will be trying to figure out how to mitigate what ailed us this weekend, how to figure out how to make the tyres run better on these overheating circuits. We’ll also be doing quite a lot of work to bring our last upgrade of the season together. We’ve quite a fairly substantial set of new clothes for the car coming for Austin that we hope will give us a decent weekend there.”
Meanwhile, former driver Ralf Schumacher warned that Verstappen is serious about potentially quitting Formula One over a swearing row. The Dutchman had already suggested he could turn his back on the sport sooner than expected if the sport’s governing body stopped him having fun and being himself.
Red Bull’s three-time world champion was ordered by stewards to do “community work of public interest” with the International Automobile Federation (FIA) after he used a swear word in a press conference ahead of the Singapore GP.
The penalty, which he described as “super silly”, led Verstappen to give only short answers or offering “no comment” to reporters in the official FIA post-qualifying press conference on Sept 21.
Schumacher told Sky Deutschland: “I trust Max to stop if this escalates because he is simply independent. He has enough money. He has often spoken about the fact that he won’t be in Formula One forever. So I wouldn’t rule it out.” REUTERS
