Hamilton fumes at Kimi tactic
LEWIS HAMILTON accused Ferrari of dirty tactics following Sebastian Vettel’s dramatic victory at the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton, roared on by a record-breaking 140,500strong crowd, fought his way back from last place to second after Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen collided with his Mercedes on the opening lap.
Hamilton afforded Raikkonen space at the right-handed third turn, but the Finn locked up, before his left-front tyre thudded into the right-rear of Hamilton’s Mercedes. The Englishman was sent into a spin, and re-joined the track at the back of the pack.
The stewards had no trouble in declaring Raikkonen as the guilty party. He was slapped with a 10-second penalty and two points on his licence.
“Interesting tactics from their side,” Hamilton said. “We will do all we can to fight them.”
Minutes later, the top three arrived for a tense post-race press conference. Hamilton’s voice crackled as he dissected his comeback drive.
Off camera, he looked agitated as Vettel celebrated a victory which moved the German eight points clear in the championship, and denied Hamilton a record sixth win at his home race.
Did Hamilton feel the collision was deliberate?
“All I would say is that in two races the Ferraris have taken out one of the Mercedes,” he replied. “A five-second penalty (for Vettel in France) and 10-second penalty here spoils our race.
“It is a lot of points that Valtteri and I have lost in those two scenarios.”