Lewis Hamilton came close to winning the first race of the 2022 season at the Dutch GP before some strategy errors saw him fall down to P4.
At the Dutch GP, Lewis Hamilton came the closest to winning his first race of the 2022 season after spending most of the season in the mid-field struggling with his W13.
Hamilton led the race in Zandvoort until Mercedes made a strategy call under the safety car. The Briton fell down to P4 and his rival Max Verstappen ultimately claimed the victory.
Mercedes has been struggling with its 2022 car to get back on top. Over the season, the Brackley-based team has brought a number of changes hoping to get back to its usual ways.
After the cut-throat competition in 2021 with Red Bull, both the team and its star driver want to get back in the fight.
#DutchGP 🇳🇱: Andrew Shovlin says Lewis Hamilton had damage to his front wing end plate after contact with Carlos Sainz on lap 1.
Whilst it didn’t cost them performance, it did cost him a little bit of downforce and balance on the car. 1/2
— deni (@fiagirly) September 7, 2022
Hamilton even admitted that he’s dying to fight against his old rival. He said, “I’m dying to get back in that race and have the opportunity to fight Max, but the day hasn’t come [yet].”
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“We’re going to be continuing to breathe down their necks and get that win” – Lewis Hamilton
The strategy calls by Mercedes during the Dutch GP were highly debated and it even angered the 103 GP winner Hamilton. As the race ended in disappointment for the Briton, he fumed at his team saying “I can’t believe you guys ******* me.”
But he calmed down after the race and said that there are a lot of positives that he can take home from the race in Zandvoort.
He believes that if his car’s performance remains at the top like it was in Zandvoort, the team will get win this year. “If this can be the same in the future races, we’re going to be continuing to breathe down their necks and get that win,” he said.
Also Read: Carlos Sainz accuses McLaren mechanic for his five second penalty at Dutch Grand Prix