Hamilton demands answers from Mercedes mid-race over Suzuka strategy - full transcript
Hamilton demands answers from Mercedes mid-race over Suzuka strategy - full transcript
Lewis Hamilton was left incensed after losing more than 20 seconds to Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas over the first half of the Japanese GP.
While Bottas was able to make a superb start to take the lead off the line in Suzuka, Hamilton could not get by Sebastian Vettel and was touring in third.
With Vettel and Bottas committing to two-stop strategies, Mercedes opted to put Hamilton on a one-stop.
This was something the champion took great exception to as race engineer Pete Bonington explained the move mid-race.
PB: "So you're currently P3. Vettel 10 seconds ahead. Deg looks very high, so one stop will be a struggle. Let's chase Vettel down."
LH: "Valtteri, how far?"
PB: "Valtteri's nearly got a full pit stop."
LH: "How have I lost that much time?"
PB: "Deg is much higher, deg is much higher. And we lost time behind Vettel."
LH: "I'm out of the race now. If deg is that massive why didn't you give me hard tyres? Can you guys explain a bit please. I'm basically out of the race with a pitstop behind."
PB: "So Vettel is guaranteed a two-stop, so we can see how this comes to us."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Miami Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today
- 54 minutes ago
F1 rival makes stunning Hamilton 'best' claim despite poor form
- 1 hour ago
F1 star emerges as SHOCK target for Audi
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Horner BLAMED for Newey nightmare as ‘absolute b******s’ Red Bull claims slammed
- 3 hours ago
Hamilton F1 rival makes astonishing admission with Verstappen claim
- 3 hours ago
McLaren boss keen for stunning Alonso REUNION
- Today 10:57
Related news
Hamilton F1 rival makes astonishing admission with Verstappen claim
Hamilton in Ferrari F1 SHOCK after team snub revealed
Hamilton in Arsenal title wish after STUNNING revelation
Cullen relationship blossoms with new star after moving on from Hamilton
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860