F1 News
Hamilton recovers after Mercedes strategic error: 'He had so much speed'
- GPblog.com
No one expected Lewis Hamilton to be happy with third place in Hungary prior to the Grand Prix. However, a strategic error by Mercedes made a podium a tough task and according to Jolyon Palmer, Hamilton can be proud of his third place, which became a second place after Sebastian Vettel's disqualification.
"He had a tough race, he should have had the most straightforward victory in this Grand Prix, after the start. All the major contenders were out. Bottas has wiped out the two Red Bulls and himself. Even Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc had gone. Then you are thinking: ‘Who on earth can stop Lewis Hamilton, who started from pole'", explains Palmer in the Chequered Flag podcast.
Mercedes recovers on strategy
"But in one moment he didn’t pit for the slick tyres when the rest of the field did and in that moment, his race became a lot harder to get back for some points. He and Mercedes did well to undercut Verstappen earlier. Lewis had so much pace in free air. He normally laps all these guys. He probably could’ve lapped the whole field, he had so much pace."
Now, however, Hamilton had to get past everyone to gain positions. Palmer sees that was a difficult task, also due to the Hungaroring's layout. "Because of that error he was on the charge and this circuit is not easy to overtake and he struggled perticularry with Sainz and Alonso, who did an incredible job for the team to keep Hamilton at bay. Without that he would’ve still won the race. I’m pleased to see the midfield give a hard fight to him," Palmer concluded.