Formula 1 French GP
Hamilton: Defending harder against Verstappen was "pointless"
Lewis Hamilton says it would have been “pointless to defend any harder” against Max Verstappen in the Red Bull Formula 1 driver’s race-winning pass at the French Grand Prix.
Alex Kalinauckas
Edited: Jul 8, 2021, 8:29 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Verstappen caught Hamilton on the penultimate lap of last weekend’s race at Paul Ricard, which the Mercedes driver had been leading for the previous 20 laps after Red Bull switched Verstappen to a two-stop strategy once he had regained the lead unexpectedly at the first round of pitstops.
After being waved past teammate Sergio Perez, Verstappen passed Valtteri Bottas for second place nine laps before he moved back into DRS range behind Hamilton.
As the pair ran down the Mistral Straight on lap 52 of 53, Hamilton moved to the middle of the track ahead of the Turn 8 first part of the chicane that divides the straight, but Verstappen then dived further to the inside to take retake the lead in a single passing attempt.
When asked by Motorsport.com if he could have defended harder against Verstappen in that sequence, Hamilton replied: “Firstly, there’s marbles on the inside, so I didn’t want to make my tyres any worse than they already were.
“He had the DRS open, so if he didn’t pass me there, he would have passed me the straight afterwards. It would have made zero difference and I just had no front end, so he would have got me either way. It was pointless to defend any harder.
“I think you saw what happened to Valtteri – just ended up going straight on. So, there was no point messing up the tyres anymore.”
Read Also:
- Red Bull baffled by Mercedes F1 engine comments
- Can Red Bull really win anywhere now it’s toppled a Mercedes F1 stronghold?
- Red Bull: "Ballsy" F1 strategy call was payback for Spanish GP
Hamilton also said that had Mercedes opted to switch him to a two-stop strategy, as it did to win the 2021 Spanish GP at Barcelona nearly seven weeks ago, such a move “would potentially have done the job”.
He added: “But it was not on the cards at all for us, so we’ll do some analysis and try to figure out why.”
After climbing from his car in parc ferme once he had eventually finished 2.9s behind Verstappen, Hamilton had explained what he was thinking when Verstappen pitted for a second time.
“He was already quite far ahead so the only option I really had was to stay out,” he said. “Because again he was undercutting me [as Verstappen stopped one lap before Hamilton at what would be Mercedes’ sole round of pitstops], so he would come out ahead and I wouldn’t be able to get past as they were too quick on the straights.
“The only option was to stay out as long as possible and hope the tyres held together.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Ferrari discussing new F1 deal despite dropping Mission Winnow logos
Next article Prost: Alonso back to his best after F1 absence
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Alex Kalinauckas
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
More from
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton: Kimi Antonelli “deserves to be the champion”
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
14 h
Lewis Hamilton: Kimi Antonelli “deserves to be the champion”
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
21 h
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
More from
Mercedes
George Russell reveals he lost sleep over his own driving, not the F1 championship
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
11 h
George Russell reveals he lost sleep over his own driving, not the F1 championship
George Russell: F1 2026 season a test of "character and resilience"
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
18 h
George Russell: F1 2026 season a test of "character and resilience"
Latest news
Jorge Martin declared unfit for Australian GP after suffering fracture in sprint
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
2 min
Jorge Martin declared unfit for Australian GP after suffering fracture in sprint
MotoGP Australian GP: Marc Marquez wins sprint to seize points lead, Jorge Martin crashes
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marc Marquez wins sprint to seize points lead, Jorge Martin crashes
NASCAR Truck Series championship down to two with two to go
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck 3 h
NASCAR Truck Series championship down to two with two to go
MotoGP Australian GP: Marc Marquez recovers from crash to take pole at wet Phillip Island
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
4 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marc Marquez recovers from crash to take pole at wet Phillip Island
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe