Hamilton blames car damage for losing big points

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Formula 1 F1 – Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria – July 4th 2021 Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes during the REUTERS / Lisi Niesner race

July 4 (Reuters) – Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes said damage to the car cost him second place and valuable points in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.

The Briton raced in second place but finished fourth, with Mercedes giving the green light to teammate Valtteri Bottas to overtake, in a race won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

The young Dutchman, who has now won three races in a row and five in total this season, is 32 points ahead in the championship.

“I had already said before the race that it would be very difficult to beat Max, of course,” Hamilton told Sky Sports television.

“It’s frustrating to lose so much downforce in the back of the car and not be able to hold on to second place. So a lot of points lost today.”

Hamilton said he hasn’t ridden the sidewalks more than anyone and has no idea where the damage occurred.

“I would have been second. I was second when all of a sudden it obviously broke. It would have been an easy second, in general. But obviously not able to catch up with these guys,” added the Briton.

Hamilton won three of the first four races of the season, but Red Bull has now won the last five.

The next race will be at Silverstone, a home track for Hamilton who can hope the capacity crowd will mainly cheer them on.

The 36-year-old wasn’t about to spread false optimism, however.

“We are miles away from them,” he said of Red Bull. “We have a lot of work to do. We need everyone on deck, and I know there is already.

“They (Red Bull) have clearly made a lot of improvements in the last few races and we haven’t made any. So we have to bring some, find as much performance as possible.”

Mercedes has fully focused on developing next year’s car, due to the possibility of major rule changes upsetting the pecking order, but some improvements are still underway.

Report by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Hugh Lawson

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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