Lewis Hamilton had mixed reactions after the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP. The Briton was pleased to see glimpses of his car’s speed but was left stranded in a midfield battle with his teammate George Russell.
Hamilton was powerless to stop Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen easily overtook him. The 7x Champion also had a troublesome stint with hard tires before pitting for mediums.
Turns out the call to put him on the more rigorous strategy was taken by his team. Something the Mercedes driver was definitely not happy about after he had to settle for 5th while Russell bagged the team’s first podium.
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Hamilton is not happy despite Russell’s podium
Lewis Hamilton started the race on the hard tires, while George Russell started on the medium compound. The call by the 7x champion would prove to be inferior as he struggled to find grip during the initial few laps of the race.
He revealed, “I struggled on the hards. The Setup of my car was wrong. And once when I got on the mediums, I was on much better pace.”
Fernando Alonso’s 3rd place was handed over to George Russell after the Spaniard was seen to have incorrectly served his 5-second penalty. The Spaniard was given a 10-second penalty and finished 4th.
Lewis, who finished 5th in the race, was asked if he rejoiced at the miraculous podium of his teammate. To which he bluntly replied, “That’s got nothing to do with me, but it’s good for the team.”
He seemed to not care much about his teammate’s result as Russell denied him the chance to move ahead when Lewis was on faster tires.
Lewis Hamilton reveals poor setup worked against him
Hamilton claimed he was given the rather difficult strategy of starting on Hards. The 7-time Champion claimed he was happy to move up the grid and finish 5th after starting P7. However, he was displeased by the strategy choice handed over to him by his team.
The 38-year-old said, “The strategy just didn’t work out for me. My setup was a bit off. I think if I had George’s set-up, I would have been in a better position.”
Hamilton added, “There was a 50/50 split on set-up. I chose one way and he chose the other. I could only match his pace rather than be quicker.”
The Briton was clearly pissed off when George refused to allow him to pass through. Despite being on the quicker mediums, Lewis was denied the chance to get past his teammate and attack Alonso early on.
Russell also convinced the team to allow the duo to race instead of letting his senior teammate through. The debrief will only unravel why Mercedes decided to finish in this order.
