Hamilton left to rage over Nico’s pole
LEWIS HAMILTON believes he was denied a certain pole position for today’s Hungarian Grand Prix after the bad luck which blighted the early part of his season returned in dramatic fashion yesterday.
The defending world champion, just one point adrift of his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the title race, appeared on course to claim the 56th pole of his career after blitzing the first sector on his final timed run of a yesterday’s marathon rain-hit session.
But Hamilton was left with no option other then to abandon his shot at pole after Fernando Alonso, ahead of the Briton on track, spun in his McLaren.
It paved the way for Rosberg, courtesy of being one of the last drivers to complete their final run, to snatch top spot for Sunday’s grid away from his championship rival.
While there was some controversy over Rosberg’s lastgasp lap – the German only briefly slowed down to acknowledge the waved yellow flags deployed following Alonso’s spin – his effort looked like it would secure him pole.
However, Rosberg was later called to see the stewards and a decision following that meeting was expected later last night.
Meanwhile, Hamilton, despite being magnanimous in defeat, has called for clarification on the rules.
“All us drivers need to fully understand the yellow flag situation because obviously in the way it’s written is not how it’s interpreted by the stewards or the drivers,” Hamilton said.
“For me there was no question I had to lift because Fernando was on the track, but perhaps for Nico the track had cleared but there were still flags. It was just a different scenario.
“I was four-tenths of a second up on Nico so I definitely believed I would have got pole. It was just really unfortunate I had to lose my lap.”
Hamilton, who is bidding to win a record-breaking fifth time here, added: “Nico only lost a 10th of a second through the corner so if that’s really what we’re allowed to do in future on double yellows, we can approach it differently, but I’m not sure that’s the safest approach.”