Lewis fears as new F1 season opens in Oz
Beaten Hamilton fears F1 will become a boring procession as wheel-to-wheel is replaced by strategy and pit stops now
LEWIS HAMILTON fears a lack of overtaking could turn the new Formula One season into a procession.
The former world champion was forced into an early pit-stop during yesterday’s Australian Grand Prix and struggled to overtake Max Verstappen on his re-entry to the race.
That left his hopes of catching eventual winner Sebastian Vettel in tatters as the Ferrari stormed to victory and laid down a marker for the campaign.
When told by his team that he needed to pass Verstappen, Hamilton snapped: “I don’t know how you expect me to do that.”
And he later added: “It’s worse than it’s ever been. I hope that doesn’t mean that for the rest of the year it’s more of a train. I don’t know if it was exciting to watch but I want to be closer up with cars.
“It’s really through pit-stops and strategy that we’re racing.
“You’ve just got to try to make sure you stay ahead.”
For the second year in succession in Melbourne, Hamilton failed to convert pole position into a victory.
The Brit pulled clear of Vettel from the start and began to open up a gap on the man expected to be his closest title challenger.
But his race was compromised as soon as he took the decision to pit earlier than planned.
Hamilton explained: “I struggled with the grip from the get-go.
“Sebastian was always able to answer in terms of lap-time and the majority of the time do faster laps. I got a bit stuck in traffic and the car started to overheat the tyres and I was struggling with grip to the point that I needed to come in.
“Plus, the gap was closing up and I was sliding around.
“So it was my call because otherwise he probably would have come by anyway.”
Having established a lead, Vettel quickly put significant distance between himself and the chasing pack, with Hamilton trailing in a full 10 seconds behind the German.
Valtteri Bottas grabbed the final podium spot in the second Mercedes, having at one stage threatened to catch his more illustrious team-mate.
It was the four-time world champion Vettel’s first victory since the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix.
And he said: “For all of us, it is a positive surprise. The big difference was being able to deliver a really good car.
“The new car in general obviously is fantastic and is a great reward and a big relief for everyone.
“We have done our work and it is slowly starting to pay off. If you look at who we are up against, Mercedes have been phenomenal the last couple of years.
“They will be the ones to beat but I’m just happy and we take it as a team.”
Home favourite Daniel Ricciardo, meanwhile, endured a torrid afternoon.
Having started from the pit-lane after his Red Bull suffered an electrical fault, his car suffered a suspected engine failure midway through the race, forcing his retirement.