As it is, the advantage in the tightest championship race for 15 years has swung the way of Verstappen to the tune of six points with half a dozen races remaining. Few feel the car beneath them like Hamilton when rain is in the air.Īs he saw it, third place was his to claim, an outcome that would have sent him to the United States Grand Prix in a fortnight just one point adrift of Max Verstappen. Sensory perception trumps science all day long in variable conditions when Hamilton is at the wheel. It was a devilishly tricky gamble that might have cost Hamilton whichever way the coin flipped.
Analysis: A gamble that could turn to calamity for Hamilton Hamilton finished fifth as Mercedes teammate Bottas claimed victory (Photo: AP)īy Kevin Garside, i chief sports correspondentĪrtificial Intelligence or human intuition? Mercedes backed their pitwall calculator over the seven-time world champion at the Turkish Grand Prix and as a result saw Lewis Hamilton drop two places from third to fifth, shipping five points as a consequence. In a sport where small mistakes have major consequences, this was a gamble that failed to pay off. “I think probably in hindsight, I should have either stayed out or come in much earlier, because when you come in with eight laps to go you don’t have time to go through the graining phase of that medium tyre on a drying track,” he said. Mercedes usually get their strategy spot on and indeed Bottas executed his to perfection, keeping Verstappen away from maximum points.īut Hamilton will see this race weekend as a missed opportunity to limit the damage of that engine swap. Lewis Hamilton regrets not following ‘gut feeling’ as Mercedes strategy hands F1 title lead to Max Verstappen They threw him in the pit, knowing that had they kept him out then not even fifth place would have been salvageable. The evidence suggested Lewis wouldn’t make it and as soon as Perez and Leclerc were up to speed with their fresh sets, Mercedes knew Hamilton wouldn’t hold out. Then Leclerc’s grip gave way and both Bottas and Verstappen passed him. He tried to get past Perez but the Red Bull held on.
Mercedes had their mechanics ready for the tyre switch but the Briton was having none of it. Leclerc went for broke and Hamilton did the same. Hamilton and Perez (right) enjoyed a battle for fourth before the Brit’s tyres waned (Photo: Reuters)
The Ferrari driver was heard over the radio asking if a no-stop strategy could win him the race.
It meant that when Verstappen and Bottas pitted midway through, Leclerc was free to saunter into the lead on his old set.
Hamilton, meanwhile, needed just 15 laps to move into fifth.Īs the rain refused to leave the track, a race that promised plenty of one-on-one action under low clouds and high humidity in fact produced the opposite, as drivers took a largely conservative strategy to preserve their tyres and beat the weather, rather than each other.
He got away from Hamilton’s rival and stretched into a comfortable lead. The option to swap out Hamilton’s engine and take the grid penalty meant Bottas took pole for a sodden afternoon in Turkey, alongside Verstappen.Īnd from lights out the Finn dominated. But it could have been even worse for Mercedes.