Hamilton fury after penalty costs win
MERCEDES TEAM- MATE FIRES SHOT AT CRITICS
LEWIS HAMILTON slammed the “ridiculous” and “bull****” time penalties that denied him a record- equalling victory at the Russian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was penalised by the stewards for performing two illegal practice starts ahead of a race in which he had hoped to claim his 91st victory to match Michael Schumacher’s all- time tally.
Valtteri Bottas took advantage of his Mercedes team- mate’s punishment to claim his second win this season, with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen second and Hamilton third. “That is bull****,” said six- time world champion Hamilton on his team radio. “Where is that in the rulebook? This is ridiculous, man.”
Hamilton, below, was initially handed two penalty points on his licence but, in the end, Mercedes were fined £ 23,000 after the team took the blame for the pre- race infringement.
And in a parting shot Hamilton added: “It’s to be expected. They’re trying to stop me, aren’t they?”
LEWIS HAMILTON’S quest for Michael Schumacher’s all- time win record was put on hold – but Valtteri Bottas will have few complaints.
The spotlight was firmly on Mercedes’ British superstar as he mounted his quest to secure a record- equalling 91st career victory in Russia.
But his hopes were all but ended before the showdown in Sochi even started after he performed two illegal practice starts in an embarrassing gaffe by the usually dominant Silver Arrows.
And Bottas took advantage of Hamilton’s penalty woes to cross the line first in an otherwise largely uneventful afternoon.
It marked only the second victory of the season for the Finn after he took the opening round in Austria. The win was a huge morale boost for Bottas, who, after taking the chequered flag, said: “To my critics and to whom it might concern, **** you.”
Explaining his radio outburst, Bottas said: “I don’t get people that have the need to criticise and there have been people telling me that I should not bother, give up. But I’ll never do that. So I wanted to send my best wishes to them. I come to every race believing I can do it.”
Hamilton will now have to wait until the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in Schumacher’s native Germany on Sunday week to get another shot at matching his record. Ultimately, it was a mistake by Mercedes that led to Hamilton’s downfall yesterday.
The Briton radioed in to Mercedes to see if he could perform a practice start in the pitlane exit. Race engineer Pete Bonnington informed him that he could, but the decision came back to bite the team, with the tactic not permitted in the rules. The race started with a decision yet to be taken and Hamilton held Bottas at the getaway and again at the restart after the safety car was deployed.
But the championship leader was eventually told he would have to surrender his lead
“Lewis we have a 10- second penalty,” said Bonnington. “What happened? What happened?” Hamilton asked.
“Those starts going to the grid, we got a five- second penalty for each,” replied Bonnington.
“That is bull****,” said Hamilton. “Where is that in the rulebook?”
But stewards issued Hamilton with two five- second sanctions, and explained: “Art 36.1 requires drivers to use constant throttle and constant speed in the pit exit other than in the place designated for practice starts.”
With Hamilton out of the way, Bottas eased to a routine victory, crossing the line 7.7 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
People have told me to give up but I’ll never do that