THAT WAS THE PITS!
Hamilton’s torment as another team blunder costs him victory and title race lead
LEWIS HamIlton’S pillion ride back from his stricken car came as a merciful release from his team’s implosion, his public exhibition of agony and his loss of the world championship lead.
Every tortured syllable he spoke over the radio provided a damning commentary on mercedes’ failures that cost him victory in austria’s Styrian mountains — the Briton’s first retirement in 33 races dating back to october 2016. that record of previous invulnerability is a monument to his and mercedes’ consistent brilliance as the super team of their era.
But the operation is shaking, the mistakes are creeping in. and this morning, six days before the British Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel holds a one-point advantage in the drivers’ standings.
mercedes suffered double mechanical failure for the first time since they returned to grand prix racing as a works team in 2010. Valtteri Bottas, who started in pole position, retired with a hydraulic failure before Hamilton’s loss of fuel pressure seven laps from the end.
away from the mercedes mess, Red Bull’s max Verstappen won with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen second and Vettel third.
Hamilton had been in total command after a fantastic start to move from second on the grid to first place through the opening corner.
But, crucially, he was left out when all his rivals peeled into the pits to be re-shod under the virtual safety car.
Hamilton was shocked as the penny dropped. told he had to find eight extra seconds to maintain his lead once he too had stopped, he said: ‘Eight seconds!? How did we miss that?’ now came an extraordinary exhibition of self-flagellation from the pit wall. James Vowles, chief strategist and responsible for the oversight, came on the radio to say: ‘lewis, this is James. I understand. It’s my fault.
‘We’re still with you, mate. Just give it what you can. there will be opportunities later. as much as you can now for the next 10 laps.’
Hamilton came in for his new tyres after 25 laps and returned to the fray in fourth place. the other relevant cars — including that of Verstappen (right) — had been called in by their faster-thinking pit boffins when Bottas suffered his race-ending problems on lap 14. after his first stop, Hamilton kept up his litany of complaints.
In fact, it was one of the longest moans of our age. ‘I’m fourth now!?’ said Hamilton.
‘Entirely on us that problem, mate,’ came the response.
later. ‘I want to say something, but I. . . Just leave me to it, Bono,’ said Hamilton, referring to his race engineer Peter Bonnington.
and no prizes for guessing that it wasn’t pillow talk that he had in mind.
then: ‘I feel like I’m running out of power.’ next: ‘I don’t get it guys. I just don’t. I’m not going to be able to pass these guys. Just thrown away a win.’
Vowles was on again. ‘lewis, it’s James. I’ve thrown away the win today, but you have the potential opportunity to get back up. Just let the tyres cool. We trust in you.’
Vettel, who came from sixth on the grid after a three-place penalty for blocking Carlos Sainz in qualifying, overtook Hamilton on the inside of turn three. Wheel to wheel. But clean and fair.
Back to the radio. ‘now, I’ve got blistering too,’ said Hamilton.
later: ‘the rear tyres delaminate more and more.’ then: ‘I don’t know what to say to you guys. these rears are not going to f ****** last.’
He came in for a second set of new tyres on lap 52 of 71
to emerge in fifth. But Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo retired from fourth position. That lifted Hamilton up a place before his luck, his machinery and his championship supremacy all went pop.
Speaking afterwards, Hamilton said: ‘I won’t lie. We’re going to have to work on all areas.’
Away from the cameras, he composed himself enough to address the Mercedes workforce.
Team principal Toto Wolff said: ‘We had a debrief and Lewis came on to say that he didn’t know how many people were listening back in our factories in Brixworth and Brackley but he couldn’t remember his last DNF (did not finish).
‘He told them that Mercedes has had the best reliability in the last few years, the fastest car, and that this is the best team he has ever driven for. He said that he had no doubts we would come back strong. That is his mindset.’
It was the first time that a team member — Vowles in this case — has offered a sacrificial mea culpa over the radio. That, said Wolff, was to give Hamilton ‘peace of mind’ so he could ‘park’ the strategy error and drive on clearly.
The problems may be tough for Hamilton and Mercedes, but Wolff kept his poise and conducted himself as a leader should.
‘We will be back to work tomorrow at 8am,’ he vowed.