Lewis Hamilton lambasted his Mercedes team on the radio after their strategic call which swung the outcome of the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver spent the race in the hunt for victory against Max Verstappen. However the team’s decision not to pit him during a late Safety Car period saw him fall to fourth place at the flag.
Hamilton became the race leader when Verstappen pitted and changed from hard tyres to softs. The Mercedes driver continued on his medium tyres.
Later in the Safety Car period, Hamilton’s team mate George Russell pitted to switch from medium tyres to softs. That relinquished second place to Verstappen.
When the race restarted, Verstappen immediately passed Hamilton to take the lead. Hamilton fell to fourth place by the end of the race, being passed by both Russell and Charles Leclerc, who also switched to soft tyres.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff came on the radio after the race and apologised to Hamilton, while reminding him the team had gone into the race willing to take risks in pursuit of their first win of the year.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Hamilton’s radio messages after Safety Car
Hamilton restarted the race in the lead on a set of medium compound tyres, with Verstappen, Russell and Leclerc behind him on soft tyres.
| Speaker | Message |
|---|---|
| Bonnington | So when the lights go out it’ll be strat mode five and you can use early overtake push. Push and hold available at your discretion. |
| Bonnington | Safety Car at turn 12. |
| Bonnington | Safety Car apex 13. |
| Bonnington | Safety Car apex 14. |
| Bonnington | In the pit lane. |
| Bonnington | Strat five. |
Verstappen passed Hamilton before the first corner after the restart.
| Bonnington | Verstappen passes Hamilton So you’ve got George 0.6 behind. |
| Bonnington | And you have at least three or four laps of early push overtake if you need it. |
| Hamilton | I can’t believed you guys fucking screwed me, man. I can’t tell you how pissed I am right now. |
| Bonnington | Copy Lewis. We’ll chat afterwards. DRS has been enabled. |
| Hamilton | Yeah I know I can’t close in. |
| Bonnington | Leclerc 0.7. Remember that early overtake push. |
| Hamilton | Gap behind? |
| Bonnington | Sainz at 1.3 |
| Hamilton | Is everyone on soft tyres? |
| Bonnington | Just those around us. We’ve got Sainz doing 15.0, he’s under pressure from Perez, he’s on the medium. |
After the race Hamilton made a point of thanking his mechanics for their quick pits stops during the race, but made no mention of the others.
| Hamilton | How many laps left? |
| Bonnington | It’ll be five when you cross the… |
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…