Rueful Hamilton accepts faintest of apologies
New season, yet end of a Masi episode at last as Leclerc takes pole
LEWIS HAMILTON, in jaunty floral shorts, raised a faint smile for a supporter shouting his name from the balcony. It was a faint smile sort of a night for the Mercedes man.
He received no apology, and said he did not expect one, in the FIA report that investigated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, last December 12, and was published yesterday. It amounted to little more than a tying up of loose ends.
And he finished fifth in qualifying for opening round in Bahrain, so hardly brilliant, not when Ferrari and Red Bull are on a different plane, and worse given he was a yawning 0.680sec off the mark set by pole man Charles Leclerc.
Max Verstappen, 0.123sec adrift, was second best and Carlos Sainz third. Then Sergio Perez closed off the top four places for the two leading teams at the start of Formula One’s new dawn.
But after the travails of Friday, when his car juddered and bounced, it was glimmer of hope.
As for the FIA report, it admitted sacked race director Michael Masi’s ‘human error’, as close as the governing body felt they could get to a full mea culpa for the last-lap drama that helped Verstappen to the title and wrenched it from Hamilton.
But the only thing that would have changed the game beyond all recognition would have been to reverse the result. The FIA could never have done that, not at this stage. What a can of worms that would have opened.
The report said of the championship verdict that it was, ‘valid, final and cannot be changed’.
Hamilton acknowledged the fait accompli, for Mercedes have been involved with the FIA over their handling of the matter since December. Once Masi was fired last month, they were willing to back away from any further threats or criticisms and instead work with the new president, Mohammed ben Sulayem.
Asked about the report, which was published as a seven-page summary,
Hamilton was hardly rattled or clamoring for more. He knew the bones of it all anyway. Ben Sulayem and he spoke on Thursday night to apply balm to the sores. ‘I saw it from a distance, but I have not read it,’ said Hamilton. ‘I have been focused on getting the job done today.
‘I will read it after the weekend. Look, I wasn’t expecting an apology and it is not something I have focused on. We knew the way it was and that was probably not going to happen. But at least there is that transparency and it is a “human error” and that is a positive step. We cannot go back unfortunately and change the past so I just look at what I can do now and shape the team.’
But to the track. Ferrari and Red Bull have seized the most sweeping regulation changes for a generation and bent them to their will. As for Mercedes, well, Hamilton wrote off his chances of victory here as early as Friday night.
A long journey back into contention seemed to lie ahead. So, with all that gloom around, Hamilton’s deficit of six-tenths was something of an uplift.
‘I’m not saying I’m relieved,’ said the seven-time champion. ‘But I’m generally happy, given how we’ve been the last few weeks, the struggles we’ve had and the problems we’ve faced with the car. It’s a bit of a nightmare to drive. We’ve just kept our heads down, kept working away and I’m proud of everyone for just staying positive. To get fifth in qualifying, when those guys ahead of us are in another league, is OK.
‘They were a second ahead of us yesterday through race pace, so my battle is with the guys behind most likely.’
Hamilton’s team-mate George
Russell qualified ninth, a little short of a dream start for the Englishman, but there is a long season ahead and his chances will surely come.
In fact, he was faster than his senior partner in the earlier parts of the evening, not that that is when it counts.
Ferrari were quietly confident in the build-up that they may just be able to shrug off season upon
season of under-achievement by finally springing an opening day pole.
They did, but fear Red Bull’s race pace may give Verstappen the edge today. It should be a good fight between the top three men.
They know they must make hay while Mercedes struggle, so a lot is at stake.
Verstappen, experienced now at facing the Mercedes menace, said he was taking nothing for granted.
He said of them: ‘You can see with the bouncing that they have, that the car is not so easy to drive. They just need to figure out a few things, but if they can do that, their package can be quick.
‘It is nice to be ahead now, but I know from last year I know just how quickly things can change in Formula One. There are still a lot of unknown areas to unlock. I expect them to work very hard to close the gap.’