DIRTY TRICKS
Lew’s Ferrari fury after Silver shunt
FURIOUS LEWIS Hamilton pointed the finger at Ferrari for shunting him off the track as sparks flew at Silverstone.
The four-time world champion saw his dreams of landing a fifth successive British Grand Prix bite the dust in controversial circumstances as Sebastian Vettel took home the spoils.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen clipped his wheel on the first lap, leaving Hamilton to recover from last place, eventually finishing second.
He said: “That’s two races now that Ferrari have taken out one of the Mercedes.
“A five-second penalty and 10-second penalty spoils the race. It’s a lot of points that Valtteri Bottas and I have lost in those two scenarios.”
It was some comeback from Hamilton but following a five-second punishment in France when Vettel hit Hamilton’s team-mate Bottas two weeks ago, it left a sour taste.
He questioned his rivals’ tactics on the podium – and when asked what happened on the third corner said: “I was hit by a Ferrari. We have to make sure we are not exposed to the red cars.
“We need to work hard to position ourselves better. Who knows when it’s going to happen again?”
Raikkonen admitted his mistake in the immediate post-race debrief but upon hearing Hamilton’s criticism, hit back. He said: “Funnily enough, you start blaming us and saying we did it purposefully.”
And race-winner Vettel went one stage further as he said: “Things like that can happen – it’s silly to think it was deliberate.”
Vettel’s display bore all the hallmarks of German efficiency. It was calculated brilliance from the 31-year-old who stormed into the lead on the first lap, used his tyre stops to maximum benefit and saw it home with minimum of fuss.
He overtook Hamilton’s team-mate Bottas with seven laps to go with a fabulous manoeuvre – capping a thoroughly satisfying display.
Hamilton and Mercedes did add 18 points to their total. A haul which looked miles off when the home favourite hit the gravel.
It was appreciated back in the paddock. Hamilton crossed the line and was greeted by the words: ‘Lewis, that was an awesome effort.’