Lewis Hamilton hoping century bid not “derailed” by double tap

Hamilton, RussianGP, Mercedes — Photo: © LAT Images

Russian Grand Prix

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Hamilton hoping century bid not “derailed” by double tap

Hamilton hit the barriers twice at Sochi as he failed to take pole position

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Saturday 25 September 2021 20:30

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Lewis Hamilton is hoping his two incidents during Russian Grand Prix qualifying will not 'derail' his quest to finally seal his 100th F1 victory.

The Mercedes driver, who has not won since the British Grand Prix five races ago, appeared on course to clinch pole position on a crucial weekend in the championship race before colliding with the pit entry wall in Q3.

The time taken to change his damaged front wing ensured he was unable to correctly bring his slick tyres up to temperature on a damp surface, with Hamilton eventually finishing fourth.

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That was not before he spun on his final flying lap and again hit a wall, this time on the rear of the car.

"Looking at both the incidents, the pit lane one wasn't perfect but a relatively light touch and the second one was super, super light so the second one is not an issue," explained Hamilton, addressing fears of lasting damage.

"So far, they are saying it is okay so they will do all the checks tonight. Obviously, the car is built to withhold a lot of force through the corners so those little taps hopefully have not derailed us.

"Sliding and touching the wall in the pit lane was frustrating and was what I was most disappointed in myself [for] because other than that, it was a really good qualifying session.

"Then they changed my tyres and obviously, I had to change my wing and had to let Valtteri [Bottas, Mercedes team-mate] go, so I was in the pit lane without blankets on for 64 seconds, something like that. So I lost a huge amount of temperature in my tyres.

"Yes, of course, embarrassing and disappointed in myself but s**t happens. We all make mistakes. It is not what you would expect a world champion to do.

"The problem with having the success that I have is that anything but perfection feels like a long way off. I am only human."

Mercedes management "perfect" despite late tyre change

The timing of Mercedes' switch from intermediate tyres to slicks only allowed each driver the opportunity to complete a single flying lap, in comparison to third-placed George Russell who managed three attempts.

Despite this, Hamilton insisted: "I think the management from the team was perfect, spot on.

"Of course, you could say we could have come in earlier but neither of us felt that it was worth the risk.

"Obviously, the guys in sixth and seventh and eighth, it was easier for them to take a bigger risk. For us, I wasn't interested in doing so."