Lewis misses a trick in Belgium
LEWIS HAMILTON had to backtrack quicker than he set off from pole after saying Ferrari had “trick things going on” with their car at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel overtook pole-sitter Hamilton on the first lap to seize control of the race and cut the Mercedes driver’s championship lead to 17 points.
But after using the word “trick” in assessing Ferrari’s performance, Hamilton had to explain he was not accusing his rivals of anything illegal.
“We all have trick things going on with our cars,” said Hamilton. “Trick is just a word for something special.”
Asked whether he felt Ferrari were doing something illegal, Hamilton initially said he had no idea what was on the Italian team’s car so could not say.
He added Ferrari had displayed some serious pace in the race, particularly on the straights, even if Mercedes were quicker in other areas.
“I’m not saying that there is anything illegal,” Hamilton said. “Trick is just something that helps you bring that extra bit of performance, that’s all I mean. So please don’t read into it and please don’t twist my words and say that I say they are doing anything illegal, because they’re not.
“They just outperformed us today and we’ve got to work harder. There are things they might have on the car that we might not and vice-versa. We’ve got to try and find out what and improve on that.”
Formula One race director Charlie Whiting said he was “quite amused” by Hamilton’s words.
“We know quite a lot about the Ferrari car and there is no way Lewis would know anything about the Ferrari car,” he said. “They’re doing a good job at the moment and Mercedes have got to try to counter that, haven’t they?
“If he says they’ve got a few tricks going on that car, well, clearly they have things going on which are giving it performance.”
Unlike in the wet of qualifying, Hamilton was no Not Classified: Fastest lap: Pole: match for Vettel, with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen rounding out the podium. Following back-toback victories for Hamilton before the summer break, Vettel needed to stop the rot on Formula One’s return to action in the Ardennes forest. Vettel and Hamilton now have five wins each and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Ferrari’s home race and last of the regular European season, is next up. Vettel, above, won the race by moving past his rival in the opening exchanges. Hamilton held off Vettel at La Source but was unable to stop the Ferrari from sailing past him on the ensuing Kemmel Straight. The safety car was then deployed following the chaotic start behind the leaders. Nico Hulkenberg missed his braking point for La Source and careered into the back of Fernando Alonso’s McLaren. The force of the impact sent Alonso into the air and over the top of Charles Leclerc’s Sauber. The race resumed at the end of lap four as Vettel’s superiority in the dry paid dividends and he romped to victory. “I knew my chance would be up the hill and I climbed it well,” said Vettel. “My timing was crucial and I managed it perfectly. As soon as I was ahead I was quite relieved. “After the safety car, I had a good restart and a very good exit. So after that it was a very smooth race. A great weekend.”