Breaking news
Formula 1 French GP
Hamilton ignored instruction not to go for fastest lap
Lewis Hamilton ignored a message from his Mercedes Formula 1 team urging him not to go for fastest lap at the end of the French GP.
Adam Cooper Scott Mitchell
Edited: Jun 24, 2019, 4:48 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Hamilton was told several laps before the end of the race that fifth-placed Sebastian Vettel had a window in which to comfortably make a pitstop and go for fastest lap on new tyres.
Despite taking that information onboard with hard tyres that had run 29 laps, Hamilton posted a time of 1m32.764s on his final lap to briefly grab the fastest lap point.
However, having taken fresh soft tyres Vettel subsequently crossed the line in 1m32.740s, only just pipping his rival. The Ferrari driver revealed that he had been compromised by a battery issue.
Read Also:
Hamilton said having got so close was a reminder that he and the team always keep pushing.
"I think you should never give up and never be complacent and just think no it's not possible," he said when asked by Motorsport.com. "An extra point was available. Naturally the guys can't know how I feel in the car, but I felt like I had a little bit left in the tyres, and there was only one more lap.
"I was, 'I'm going to go for it man, let's go for it.' Even during the lap they were saying, 'Don't worry, he's got new tyres, there no way you're going to beat him.' As crazy as a driver is, I thought maybe I could get there.
"I didn't realise I'd be so close – there's things I could have done to make it happen. I don't think he had a perfect lap, I don't think he had full deployment, or something like that. I think that's a learning for us, never take things for granted and continue to push."
Hamilton's explanation was supported by the radio exchange with Peter Bonnington, which ran as follows:
*Hamilton starts the final lap*
Bonnington: So Vettel has stopped for fastest lap, so we won't bother going for it.
*As Hamilton approaches the back straight, clearly on a hot lap*
Bonnington: So Vettel on a soft tyre now, so expected to be a 31.
Hamilton: I hear you man, but if he doesn't do the lap maybe I'm alright.
*Race finishes*
Bonnington: Get in there Lewis. That was an absolutely blistering drive mate. Awesome race pace.
Hamilton: Phenomenal weekend guys. Just so proud of everyone. Thank you so much for all the hard, continued work. Let's keep it up.
*Further round the cool-down lap*
Hamilton: It was worth a try, the last lap.
Bonnington: Yeah, copy Lewis. Yeah, very close in fact.
Hamilton: How much was I off?
Bonnington: A couple of hundredths.
Hamilton: You can never have a defeatist mind, always got to go for things dudes.
Bonnington: Yeah, just saying...
Hamilton: I could have gone quicker if we'd planned it properly.
Bonnington: Yeah, copy, that's a lesson for us.
Vettel admitted that he expected to have gone faster, but insisted he was not discouraged that Hamilton could come so close with old tyres.
"Not quick enough!," said the German. "I was surprised myself. We tried to go as fast as we can. Before that it looked fine, the fastest lap was only a 1m33.5s, Lewis put a very strong lap in at the end.
"I can only assume he was cruising for most of the race before that. The tyre degradation was quite low, especially on the hards, so he was able to put a strong lap in at the end. But yeah, it was tight.
"We had a small issue with the battery so maybe not 100% ideal. I had a quick look at the fastest lap comparison and it was very close the whole lap. So, discouraging, no. Not more or less than the lack of speed we've seen now for some races."
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 Russell says unseen move on Kubica was "hairy"
Next article F1 race director Masi explains why Perez was penalised
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton slams Charles Leclerc for "do or die" attitude after Mexico GP clash
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
10 h
Lewis Hamilton slams Charles Leclerc for "do or die" attitude after Mexico GP clash
Fred Vasseur reacts to Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc clash: “It’s a matter of respect”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
21 h
Fred Vasseur reacts to Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc clash: “It’s a matter of respect”
More from
Mercedes
What was Kimi Antonelli’s best moment of his F1 title-winning campaign? Our writers have their say
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
6 h
What was Kimi Antonelli’s best moment of his F1 title-winning campaign? Our writers have their say
Mercedes fined for George Russell skipping F1 Mexico GP media duties
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
9 h
Mercedes fined for George Russell skipping F1 Mexico GP media duties
Latest news
NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
44 min
NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars
Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
1 h
Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 4 h
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
4 h
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
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