NICO: LEW MUST STOP MAKING EXCUSES
NICO ROSBERG accused his old Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton of making excuses after yesterday’s qualifying disaster took the shine off a brilliant Sprint race.
Hamilton finished second behind only runaway winner Max Verstappen in the short-form race in Shanghai.
Though not a Grand Prix, it was his best result of the year by far.
But the Briton followed it up with a wretched qualifying session as a costly mistake condemned him to 18th on the grid for today’s main event. “S**t happens,” Hamilton said dismissively, blaming a change of car set-up as teammate George Russell qualified eighth.
But his former team-mate Rosberg was quick to stick the boot in and said: “George has mostly been in front of Lewis – 4-1 now – in qualifying.
“Lewis tends to say, ‘Yeah but we have different set-ups and such a big car difference’. That is his excuse so far this year.” The 2016 title-winner also said
Hamilton’s error was “unnecessary” and a “disaster”, adding: “For a seven-time world champion, that’s a mistake which should be avoidable.”
But Hamilton insisted he remains “very strong mentally” and said: “Sometimes you get it right, sometimes wrong.”
Hamilton was still thrilled with his second place in the Sprint and declared it “the best result I’ve had in a long time”.