LUCKIEST WIN EVER
‘Humbled’ Hamilton victorious after rivals take each other out and team-mate gets puncture
LEWIS HAMILTON has won in the wet, in tight corners, in jalopies, by miles and by fractions. But career win no 63 here yesterday was the luckiest of his life.
So much so that the world champion arrived on the podium late, having taken time out to commiserate with his mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, whose right rear tyre blew, thus denying him victory and providing the final twist of a crazy azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Hamilton was commendably embarrassed to be on the top step. But, no doubt, grateful too, for by triumphing for the first time since october, he went top of the World Championship table — four points ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, whose single late error of the weekend contributed significantly itself to the topsyturvy outcome.
the pivotal moments were set up by a massive smash between the two Red Bulls on lap 40 of 51. max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo had already locked wheels once but their fifth and fatefully final tussle for supremacy — or fourth place in this case — ended with them both out of the race.
Ricciardo was all over the back of Verstappen at 220mph on the fastest and longest straight in Formula one. Verstappen made a move to hold off the advancing australian. Ricciardo locked up and ploughed into the back of the younger man.
Sparks went flying everywhere and the two drivers sat in their stricken machines for a small age. adrian newey, the design guru whose pencil drew the cars that were soon hoisted off the track, folded his file on the pit wall, put it under his arm, and walked off.
team boss Christian Horner stayed in his seat impassively. the safety car came out for the second time in the race. It then stayed out longer than expected when Romain Grosjean somehow put his Haas into the wall.
a massive truck came to take the debris away and Hamilton thought it too dangerous for the race to continue. He asked for his safety concerns to be conveyed to the race director, Charlie Whiting.
little did Hamilton know then that a premature end to proceedings was the last thing that would have helped him.
the action restarted. Bottas was leading, Vettel second, Hamilton third. It looked to be all over. However, Vettel dived down the inside of Bottas, overshot and fell down the field. at this point, Bottas was still in front of Hamilton and in total control.
then, with three laps remaining, Bottas’s tyre went pop. He had run over some debris, and that let Hamilton through for the victory. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was second, Force India’s Sergio Perez third and Vettel fourth. Hamilton did not holler, or punch his fist, on the podium. ‘It doesn’t feel like justice or relief,’ he said a few hours later, when it was suggested he had been unlucky in the opening race in melbourne through a timing glitch during a virtual safety car phase and that this was his rightful payback. ‘It is a humbling feeling. I just told myself to keep going, keep going, and something might happen. my whole life I have done that. You are climbing a hill and keep falling down. my dad told me never to give up.’ as for his performance on an afternoon when he locked up, twice ran off, struggled with his tyres, fought the strong wind and occasionally had brusque words over the radio with his team, Hamilton said: ‘If my normal level is usually eagle, birdie, today I was shooting some pars and bogeys. ‘Valtteri had a great race. He has more than earned his place here (at mercedes). I went to see him out of respect and to try to lift him up a bit. ‘I like to win by outsmarting and outperforming every driver out there.’ Vettel’s demeanour afterwards was contented, as he ate a piece of bread in the paddock. His car remains the fastest and, when the result of what Hamilton called a ‘lottery’ of a race is set aside, the German holds the advantage of speed in the longer tussle for the title. Race five of 21 comes in Barcelona a fortnight hence.
‘S*** happens,’ said Vettel. ‘Without a safety car it would have been a different race. I saw the gap on the side and unfortunately it did not work out for me. But that is easy to say now. I went over a bump and had front locking but I’m not blaming that — I am captain of my own ship.
‘I am not worried. We have a good car and that is the most important thing.’
Indeed, not everything is yet in place for Hamilton, including his new contract — which, you feel, should not be long delayed in the signing for his own clarity of thought.
He arrived here to learn that Bernie Ecclestone had said that, aged 33 and worn out by travel, he was not quite the racer he once was. the verdict on that remains open.
the last word should go to the moral victor, Bottas, the man extracting the best out of his mercedes on tyres older than his more illustrious team-mate’s.
asked how he would cope with the missed moment of glory, the Finn said: ‘You need to go through difficulties. that is part of racing. at the moment it’s really painful. maybe 10 pints and I’ll be fine.’