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Lewis Hamilton has put up a defiant stand against any of his critics who question his rant on the team radio during the F1 Miami GP. The race weekend in Miami was an improved and positive one for the 7x champion. Unlike the races in Jeddah and Bahrain, where the driver was too far behind his teammate, it was closer this weekend.
During the race, the two teammates were on different strategies. Charles Leclerc, starting the race in P8, started the race on medium tires. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, was starting his race outside of the top 10 and hence used the hard tires in the beginning.
It all came to a head after the first virtual safety car period, where both drivers converged on the same piece of tarmac after the first pit stop. At this stage, Charles Leclerc was ahead on the track, but it was Lewis Hamilton who had the faster medium tires on his Ferrari.
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It was during this time that the 7x F1 champion asked the team to switch positions as he was stuck behind his teammate. The entire back-and-forth took too much time, and in the end, after swapping positions and then going back, neither Lewis Hamilton nor Charles Leclerc was happy with how the situation was handled.
All of this led to an outburst on team radio from Lewis Hamilton. Talking to Sky Sports after the race, the Ferrari driver wasn't willing to back down from his stance as he claimed that he would never back down from being a fighter.
"I don't know what you're going to write or whether I was disrespectful or whatever, I honestly don't feel I was. "I was just like, 'come on, guys. I want to win'. I've still got that fire in my belly. I could feel a little bit of it really coming out there, and I'm not going to apologise for being a fighter, I'm not going to apologise for still wanting it."
"I know everyone in the team does too. I truly believe that when we fix some of the problems we have with the car, we'll be back in the fight with Mercedes, with the Red Bulls. It just can't come quick enough. We'll try something different at the next race, we'll keep working on our processes. I look forward to a time when maybe I can fight for a podium, that would be nice."
You've got to understand, it's frustrating: Lewis Hamilton
Talking about the amount of time that was wasted in the back and forth, the driver pulled back the curtain on what was going through his mind. The driver talked about how he lost a lot of time behind Charles Leclerc, and a decision that should have been made much quicker was delayed a bit too much. Talking about his frustrations with the entire situation, the driver said (via Sky):
"I lost a lot of time behind Charles and in that moment, for sure, I was like 'come on, let's make a decision quick, let's not waste time.' I'm sure people didn't like certain comments, but you've got to understand, it's frustrating."
Lewis Hamilton did have a positive race weekend in Miami overall, as the driver got a podium in the sprint and was not too far off Charles Leclerc either. It is certainly a positive for the driver amidst his recent struggles with the car.
