Lewis Hamilton’s Post-Race Interview After Belgian GP

Lewis Hamilton did not seem too pleased with his team’s strategy right after the Belgian Grand Prix on the 28th of July. The Brit initially finished second in the race, but has since been awarded first place after his teammate George Russell was disqualified when his car was found to be underweight.

The seven-time champion now being awarded victory in Belgium won’t take away from the fact that right after the race he was unhappy with Mercedes’ strategy for him. In an interview after the race where the seven-time world champion had, at the time, finished in second place, the British driver appeared to be quite critical of those advising him during the contest.

“You have to put faith in the people you work with. I put my faith in my strategists, I should be able to lean on them fully.” He also said that he felt that his tyres were fine, but Mercedes still pulled him in for a second tyre change. Russell, on the other hand, was only pulled in once throughout the race for a tyre change. To that, Hamilton added: “Did I know that I was at risk of getting one-stopped by my teammate? They didn’t tell me that.”

These strong words from Hamilton perhaps imply that he feels the different strategies used on him and his teammate Russell favoured the latter of the two drivers, with Russell being the one who came out victorious initially.

George Russell’s Disqualification

Russell’s disqualification will be very frustrating for the entire Mercedes team, except for Hamilton, perhaps. While the disqualification has denied Mercedes their first one-two of the season, the former world champion will perhaps feel that justice has been done given that the strategy during the race looked like it favoured his colleague. This is because Russell had the fresher tyres for the end of the race, allowing him to cross the line in first relatively comfortably.

Related

Why George Russell Has Been Disqualified From Belgian GP

Mercedes’ George Russell could be disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix after initially winning the race.

Hamilton’s now-victory may ease tensions in the Mercedes camp as the F1 season goes into a near month-long break, and therefore, can be seen as a possible silver lining, as they will not want a repeat of Hamilton’s rivalry with Nico Rosberg back in 2016. Back then, Hamilton defied team orders in the final race of the season to try and beat his teammate to the Drivers’ Championship. Perhaps now that the all-time great driver has his second victory of this season, he can raise his issues with his team and his strategists more diplomatically, as had he raised them after getting second place, tensions could have risen quickly.

The 2024 F1 Season so far

The final result of the race means that Hamilton becomes the only driver not named Max Verstappen to have multiple race victories this season. Had Russell not been disqualified, then that accolade would have fallen to him, but instead, he remains in eighth place in the standings with 116 points and one victory this season. That puts him 34 points behind his Mercedes teammate who is in sixth on 150 points.

After a poor start to the season, Hamilton has picked up his form over the last month or so. On the 9th of June, he finished fourth at the Canadian Grand Prix. In the five races that have followed, he has one more fourth place, two third-place finishes, and now two victories.

If Hamilton keeps up this form, then he could perhaps make a top three push in the second half of the season. It won’t be easy, though, and he’ll certainly need his team strategists on his side.