Ever-Optimistic Lewis Hamilton Makes a Lesson Out of Mercedes Dutch GP Blunder

Lewis Hamilton has always shown immense support towards his team, no matter what. The Briton rarely calls out Mercedes’ mistakes or lashes out at them during interviews, even when they make massive blunders that lead to missing out on crucial points. Showcasing the same composure, the Briton took a diplomatic approach, with Twitter user Deni reporting that the seven-time world champion took the Dutch GP important lesson.

The Brackley-based team was quick to own up to their mistake as The Race reported the team’s statements to Sky Sports 1. Mercedes admitted to “completely wrong” strategy calls that saw their drivers struggle in the rain even though their car showcased great pace on Sunday.

Dutch GP helped Lewis Hamilton understand an important lesson

With Mercedes not anticipating the intensity of the rain correctly, both their drivers were left in the rain, struggling for any grip on the track. By the time both drivers pitted and got back to racing, they were 16th (Hamilton) and 18th (Russell) in the race. Russell was livid with his team and asked for accountability, while Hamilton chose to stay mum and focus on his driving. After the race, the seven-time world champion reflected on his team’s pit strategy and said it gave him an important learning.

“I think today was a great example of just – never give up, if at first you fell or you stumble, just get back up and keep trying. At least in the beginning, I ended up last at one point, and that was definitely frustrating. But I just kept my head down, I kept pushing. Had some great maneuvers I think, quicker than Sainz at the end; unfortunately just couldn’t overtake without the DRS.”

With Russell down and out before the race finished, it was up to Hamilton to fetch some points for the team. The Briton pulled through in dramatic fashion, finishing P6 after starting from P13 and finding himself dead last at one point.

Hamilton believes he could have troubled Verstappen in Zandvoort

Talking about the pace of his car on Sunday, Planet F1 reports Hamilton believed it was worthy of fighting at the front of the grid. The 38-year-old said if they made the right calls, he could have challenged the top two. Hamilton further added he wasn’t saying he could’ve beaten Verstappen, but he could have fetched a happier result for the team.

 

#DutchGP 🇳🇱: Lewis Hamilton post race: “Today I had the pace, I was as fast as Max in the race. But we were too far behind. It was P6, but it could certainly have been better if we had made the right decisions today.”

— deni (@fiagirly) August 27, 2023

The Briton believes that the race served as redemption for him after what happened on Saturday. He admitted to being terrible during qualifying but felt much better on Sunday, overtaking a bunch of people after starting from P13 and then coming back from last place to finishing P6. With Monza up next, the Silver Arrows will be looking forward to a much better weekend as opposed to how things unraveled in Zandvoort.