Hamilton thwarted Perez: 'This was payback from Lewis'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Sergio Perez was tied with Charles Leclerc in the world championship before the race weekend in Abu Dhabi. Both had 290 points, so the final race had to provide the outcome. That Lewis Hamilton ultimately thwarted the Mexican will do the Mercedes driver good, according to Jolyon Palmer.
Perez caused another drama weekend for Hamilton last season in Abu Dhabi. The driver was battling with Max Verstappen for the world title, which he had to leave to his rival on the last lap. This was partly due to Perez managing to hold Hamilton up for several laps.
Hamilton catches Perez back
This year, Perez had to give chase to Leclerc in the last Grand Prix of the season. The Monegasque decided to go for a one-stop, trying to stay ahead of him. Perez, meanwhile, had to pass Hamilton first, with the Briton fighting for what he was worth.
"In many ways, this was payback from Hamilton," Palmer analysed at Formula1.com. "It cost the Red Bull driver a crucial second and a half in lap time, meaning he came up agonisingly short in a bid to attack for second late on."
The British racing driver believes Leclerc was right to take second place in the world championship. "Perez was understandably disappointed to lose out on the final day, credit should go to Ferrari for finishing the season as best they could with race performances in both Brazil and Abu Dhabi."