Given the way qualifying panned out, Lewis Hamilton was not expecting to be in contention for the Belgian GP win. However, a blistering start helped him overtake Sergio Perez, who started in P2. Soon enough, the Briton caught up with race leader Charles Leclerc and passed him as well. However, as fate would have it, he lost the win to his teammate George Russell.
Hamilton was on a two-stop strategy at Spa-Francorchamps, which had higher tire degradation than in previous years due to new track asphalt. Russell, meanwhile, was on a similar strategy but felt his hard tires on the second stint were good enough to sail him through to the chequered flag. As a result, he stayed out and eventually finished ahead of the seven-time champion.
Deservedly, the #63 driver got a ton of praise from Toto Wolff. The Mercedes boss, speaking on the team radio after Russell took the chequered flag, crowned him as the ‘tire whisperer’. Oscar Piastri, who finished in P3, was equally surprised and in awe of the way Russell managed his tires to pull off a one-stop race. Hamilton, however, wasn’t.
The mics in the cooldown room picked Piastri telling Hamilton, “I can’t believe he [George] made the one-stop work!” To this, Hamilton responded, “I didn’t! My tires were fine all stints”.
#BelgianGP | Lewis Hamilton told Oscar Piastri that his tyres were fine in all stints that he was told to box. pic.twitter.com/EoQvSoQGoZ
— deni (@fiagirly) July 28, 2024
The #44 driver looked unsatisfied with his strategy which ultimately cost him the win. The comment about his tires being fine in all three stints further reveals his dissatisfaction with the Mercedes pit wall asking him to pit early each time.
Speaking after the race in an interview with F1TV, he further talked about it. When asked if he would have liked being on a one-stop strategy as well, Hamilton said, “I would’ve made my own strategy”.
Toto Wolff has no sympathies for Hamilton losing the race
Despite getting outdone on strategy, Hamilton was close enough to mount an attack on Russell before the race finished. He chased down his teammate by gaining more than seven-tenths of a second on each lap. However, as the seven-time champion approached him for an overtake, the tailwind from Russell’s car made overtaking difficult.
The situation where the two teammates fought to the finish line would have never occurred if they were both on the same strategy. However, Wolff does not want to give it much thought.
When asked after the race if they could have done anything different for Hamilton, he said, “He did a great job, and it’s unfortunate, but it is what it is”.
