CARELESS LEWIS
Crash penalty costs Hamilton a podium finish on day to forget
LEWIS Hamilton endured 24 hours to forget: riling his peers, slower than his team- mate, in and out of the stewards’ room, and finally demoted for a careless crash.
this was not how the six-time world champion imagined his starring role at a gripping austrian Grand Prix, the opening race of his title defence and the first major international event since the Covid-19 interlude.
He finished fourth, courtesy of a penalty, while Valtteri Bottas, in the other mercedes, won. Charles leclerc, after a good drive in a poor Ferrari, was second, and 20-year- old Briton lando norris third for mclaren, beating Hamilton’s old record as the country’s youngest podium finisher.
all eyes were on Hamilton as the pre-race formalities unfolded. Who would join him in taking a knee? What more extravagant act might he perform to mark himself out as the grid’s chief protester against racial discrimination?
the answer was that he wore a t- shirt different from the rest of the 20-man grid. all the others carried the legend ‘End Racism’ on their fronts. He alone carried it on his back. on his front were the words, ‘Black lives matter’.
In the middle of the front row of drivers, Hamilton bent his left knee, resting his hands on his right. thirteen fellow drivers crouched down. Six did not. leclerc, max Verstappen, antonio Giovinazzi, Carlos Sainz, Daniil Kvyat and Kimi Raikkonen stood.
they all supported the cause of racial parity — leclerc and Verstappen posted tweets to this effect — but they did not wish to be forced into a pose unnatural to their personalities. It was brave of them not to conform. Especially so as Hamilton had said those who remained silent were ‘complicit’ in racism. It was an echo of one of his previous social media posts of a slightly bullying hue, which read: ‘I see those of you who are staying silent... Just know who you are.’
Finally, the grid cleared. It had not been jam-packed, in any case. Social distancing, a limit on numbers (teams reduced from 130 to 80 personnel, guests absent, journalists caged in the media centre) saw to it that the atmosphere — also minus spectators — was radically different.
the lights went out. Hamilton started fifth, a result of a decision taken by the stewards to move him three places back for failing to slow under a yellow flag in qualifying on Saturday. Bottas, on pole and leading throughout, had a fine weekend. He drove the race calmly, withstanding long chunks of pressure with Hamilton right on his tail. Perhaps his focus was clearer than his team-mate’s with all the off-track distractions.
the race was lively. only 11 cars made it to the flag. there were crashes, wheels flying, penalties. nothing too serious occurred, but there was just enough excitement to make up for the dominance of the mercedes machines.
Hats off to their relentless devotion to perfection.
the third of three safety cars came out when a wheel came off Raikkonen’s alfa Romeo. Enter Red Bull’s alex albon, the man with whom Hamilton was about to tangle. He had been shod on the fastest, soft tyres during the previous safety car phase. now he was ready to spring his attack. lying third, he pushed himself past Hamilton on the outside of turn Four.
Hamilton refused to yield. His front-left tyre hit albon’s rear right. albon went into the gravel, his race over, just as he was sniffing a win by dint of a late surge.
the stewards blamed Hamilton, imposing a five- second penalty. So, although he finished 0.6sec behind Bottas, the adjustment chucked him back two places.
It was the second time in three races that albon, 24, had been hit by the world champion. ‘I felt as if I had done the move and I was already focused on Bottas in front,’ said albon, a london-born thai. ‘It was so late, the contact. there’s always a risk overtaking on the outside, but I gave as much space as I could. It’s up to him if he wants to crash or not.’
albon’s boss Christian Horner said: ‘It was a misjudgment by lewis and it would be good if he apologised for it.’ Hamilton responded: ‘It really felt like a racing incident, but I’ll take whatever penalty they feel I deserve.’
Verstappen retired with a mechanical issue on lap 11 while running second. It was a shame for the championship that Red Bull could not weigh in with any points, despite being well-placed behind the black cars of mercedes, so coloured as an anti-racism statement.
now we have the surreal prospect of exactly the same format in exactly the same cars at exactly the same track next weekend.
the only difference is that instead of being called the austrian Grand Prix, it will be named the Styrian Grand Prix, after the sylvan forest in which the Red Bull Ring stands.
So far, more than 4,000 Covid-19 tests of F1 personnel have been carried out, none turning up a positive result. a few more cottonbud probes await. Joy.
Hamilton, who is staying in his motorhome on site, sought to draw a line under his weekend of doom. ‘the race is done and I just feel like moving forwards,’ he said.
as ever with Hamilton, he cannot be counted out. Especially as he seeks to bounce back from adversity.