Lewis Hamilton had a nightmare start to the Spanish GP after making contact with Kevin Magnussen on the opening lap of the race.
Hamilton’s woes in 2022 continue, after a horror start in Barcelona for the Mercedes driver. Right on lap 1, he engaged in two tussles with Carlos Sainz and Magnussen respectively.
After momentarily losing position to Sainz, the Spaniard fought a brief and small battle to move past him. After Sainz, it was Magnussen who engaged in a wheel to wheel battle with Hamilton. This time, the wheels of their cars collided, and the Haas driver went off track into the gravel.
Lewis Hamilton:
“I would save the engine if I was you. I’m sorry guys”.
— FormulaRacers (@formularacers_) May 22, 2022
Hamilton too took some damage to his front wing and tyres. It led to both the drivers pitting, and rejoining the pack at last position. It rules out a sixth consecutive win for Hamilton in Barcelona, and has also spoiled Magnussen’s weekend. The latter put in a stellar lap in Qualifying yesterday to start the race on P8.
What surprised fans the most was Hamilton’s reaction after the collision. “I would save the engine if I was you,” he said on his team radio. “I’m sorry guys.”
Lewis Hamilton showing a defeated mentality surprises F1 fans
Hamilton is known for being one of F1’s toughest competitors. He has overcome several changes obstacles on his way to stardom in F1. Seeing him so dejected on the very first lap this weekend surprised F1 fans.
F1 fans took to Twitter to express their shock at how Hamilton’s Sunday unfolded. Some questioned how a seven-time World Champion can have a mentality that allows him to give up so quickly.
Imagine being a 7x world champion and just giving up like that
— Maximilian (@MijaxMV) May 22, 2022
they need a safety car. fortunately for them it’s 2022. unfortunately, this is spain.
— ali ⭐️⭐️ (@alicfc2005) May 22, 2022
Except when you’re in P19 😂😂😂
— Han (@han1974) May 22, 2022
On the other hand, the race is in a circuit where overtaking is extremely difficult. So Hamilton’s dejection may just be him being realistic that it would be incredibly difficult to get his W13 back into the points.