F1 fans were miffed at Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton as the seven-time world champion said that he could have finished in the top-5 if he had a better qualifying session at the Dutch Grand Prix. Surprisingly, the Brit couldn't make it out of the Q2 session, as he qualified P12, which later turned into P15 after his three-place grid penalty for impeding Sergio Perez.
However, Hamilton started in P14 after Alex Albon was disqualified from the qualifying due to floor irregularities. The 39-year-old started on soft tyres and made quick work of midfield cars ahead of him but couldnt move past P8 on a two-stop strategy.
Speaking with Sky Sports about his race pace, Lewis Hamilton said:
“I was much happier today. I was moving forward. Ultimately I think the car felt better, even though I had a lot of understeer in Q1 – and then we made this change overnight and just flipped it on to the other side.
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“We backed out a bunch of wing for the race, and I was progressing. I felt like I was moving in the right direction, but just too far back unfortunately. If I had qualified where George was, I would’ve finished further ahead.”
F1 fans reacted to Lewis Hamilton's comments on X, with one quoting Max Verstappen's iconic comments:
"If my mom had balls, she'd be my dad" kinda thing"
"That last bit actually made me laugh haha."
"Although it sounds hard, he should then qualify further ahead. Can't be saying this then qualify p14," said a fan.
"The last part waa unnecessary, though," claimed another.
"Well, you couldn't and didn't Excusemilton," another wrote.
Mercedes boss gives his take on Lewis Hamilton's performance at Dutch GP
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that Lewis Hamilton's race pace was 'good' and gave much-needed encouragement to the German team.
As per F1.com, the Austrian said:
"With Lewis, we planned a two-stop race for him, although we were evaluating the one-stop midway through.
"However, he suffered a lock-up on the hard tyre, and with no risk behind, we switched him to the two-stop strategy. His pace was good throughout though and that gives us encouragement."
Lewis Hamilton's P8 finish at the Dutch GP added four points to his points tally, taking it to 154 in 15 races and three Sprints.
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez's P6 finish helped him close the gap to Hamilton in his bid to regain P6 in the Driver's Championship. He trails the seven-time world champion by 15 points.
