PITS OF DESPAIR
Hamilton frustration after team mistake under virtual safety car allows Vettel to make crucial stop for victory in Australia
LEWIS HAMILTON was left fuming after a team cock-up cost him victory on a dramatic opening day.
The reigning four-time champion was mystified why his Mercedes boffins got their numbers wrong, handing the win to arch-rival Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton was cruising to victory until a virtual safety car period allowed Vettel to pit and leapfrog the British ace.
And Hamilton said: “It’s just a feeling of disbelief.
“They don’t fully understand it so they couldn’t give me the exact reason. I did everything I believed I was supposed to do when the virtual safety car came on.
“But I was coming down the straight and really last minute I was told the Ferrari was coming out ahead. I didn’t even know Seb had pitted. It was disbelief from that moment.
“I gave everything, all my ability to get it back. But it felt like my best friend was on the edge of a cliff and I could not drive close to him, that’s how hard it was to overtake.”
Hamilton reckoned he would have won had he raced more at the start rather than controlling the gap to the Ferrari duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Vettel who was third.
But when Romain Grosjean’s Haas stopped, a virtual safety car was imposed which restricts the pace of the cars on track.
Vettel took his opportunity and pitted – Hamilton had already stopped – and despite the number-crunching by the Merc experts, the German came out fractions ahead.
And despite one attempted overtake which ended with a lockup, Hamilton had to settle for second five seconds behind Vettel with Raikkonen third.
Merc boss Toto Wolff admitted: “Our computer said 15 seconds was the necessary time in order for Seb to jump us.
“We had 12 so we thought we had about a three-second margin. But then we saw the TV pictures of Seb coming out and it wasn’t enough so we were wrong. We need to ask the computers why.”
Hamilton had not pushed at the start to save his engine but reckons his team also made a mistake in reacting to Raikkonen’s pit-stop rather than focussing on Vettel. He added: “It is such a team effort but then you are relying on computers, on data and so much technology to come out with the right strategy. I wish it was more in my hands because I feel like I drove as good as ever.
“In my mind I was racing Sebastian, but the Ferraris have got two jacks, so they pit one guy, which forces you to protect yourself from the undercut.
“But I was like, ‘Let’s look out for Vettel because that is who I was racing.’ It feels like a dark cloud but it is not, we still got second.”
Hamilton had taunted Vettel over the German’s claim that he had a party-mode on his Merc after he blasted to pole position on Saturday.
But it was his fellow four-time champ who had the last laugh even if he admitted it was fortunate with the Haas car stopping after a double pit-stop nightmare.
Grosjean was unsafely released with a dodgy wheel nut soon after team-mate Kevin Magnussen suffered the same issue with the team fined £10,000.
Vettel (right) went on to admit: “We got a bit lucky with the safety car.
“It was what I was praying for.”