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Lewis Hamilton 'would have raced for the win' at the 2022 F1 Spanish GP had it not been for an unfortunate opening-lap puncture after hitting Kevin Magnussen, claims Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
The seven-time world champion had a good start off the line before an inopportune coming together with the Haas car appeared to derail him and Mercedes going into Turn 4. The Briton had to come into the pits for a fresh set of tires before dropping to the bottom of the grid.
The race looked so bleak at one point that Hamilton suggested saving the power unit of his Mercedes W13 by retiring early. However, he was told by the team to keep racing so he could try to salvage a possible P8 finish.
Hamilton dug in and cut through the field to climb as high as P4 before being asked to lift off and coast to avoid a possible DNF. The 37-year-old driver eventually crossed the line in P5 after being passed by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz late in the race.
Following the race, Toto Wolff shared his thoughts on Lewis Hamilton's race with Sky Sports F1, saying:
“It’s always the call when you’ve lost the race to decide what is the benefit of continuing. From a driver’s perspective you know ‘that can’t be possible, I’m 50 seconds behind the leaders’, but we are never giving up anyway. In the end, the race pace was tidy. He would have raced for the win. I’m happy we didn’t retire Lewis [Hamilton] because that was the most valuable race for us to compare the two cars, to compare their set-ups and tyres.”
At the end of the Spanish GP, Hamilton was chosen by fans as the Driver of the Day for his thrilling comeback drive.
"I'm not sure we damaged the engine" - Mercedes boss after water leak threatened to ruin Lewis Hamilton's 2022 F1 Spanish GP
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is unsure whether the water leak that sprung up in Lewis Hamilton's car has resulted in any lasting damage to their power unit.
In a post-race conversation with Sky Sports F1, the Austrian shed some light on the issue that led to both Mercedes cars easing off towards the end. He explained:
“We saw this [the water leak] growing during the race and it was not clear if we would finish, and at the end it was just literally making it over the line. I'm not sure we damaged the engine.”
Hamilton's P5 result in Spain means he is now sixth in the World Drivers' Championship standings, with 46 points to his name. His teammate George Russell's second podium of 2022 sees him leave Barcelona in fourth place in the standings with 74 points.
