Hamilton raced with a damaged Mercedes

Sometimes it's better to settle for second place. This is what achieved Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) during the opening of the 2019 season of Formula 1 in Melbourne (Australia), Sunday March 17. 

The Englishman, who started in pole position, did not seek to counter the hot start of Valtteri Bottas, too busy managing his skating when the lights go out. “I didn’t do a good enough job (to stay first. Editor’s note), recognizes the wearer of number 44. 

Fantastic effort from the team this weekend to start with a 1-2. Super proud of everyone back home for their hard work over winter to provide us with a car that we can fight with. Great drive from Valtteri, well deserved. Let's keep this up team @MercedesAMGF1 @MSI_Images pic.twitter.com/GdeGTXEnyq

- Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) March 17, 2019

Then it was too late after the first corner. It was mainly a matter of bringing the car back to the finish and pocketing the points. I had to go to the pits early to cover Sebastian's strategy (Hag). This is the reason why I had a very long second stint, where I took a lot of precaution to keep the same tires until the end”, he analyzes. 

Once the Mercedes arrived in the parc ferme, the British team's engineers discovered a mechanical problem with the five-time world champion. “A large piece of the floor is missing in front of the left rear wheel”, revealed the team to l’Etoile on Twitter. 

UPDATE: We have discovered damage to Lewis' floor in the area just in front of the left-rear tire. There is a chunk of the floor missing, but we are not 100 per cent sure why yet. #AusGP pic.twitter.com/Vp7nwJ9Pon

- Mercedes-AMG F1 (@ MercedesAMGF1) March 17, 2019

This damage did not prevent Lewis Hamilton from keeping his second place despite pressure from Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in the last laps. When asked if he was surprised by the performance of the Red Bull-Honda association, the Briton recalls his comments during the winter break. 

« It was supposed to be a three way battle (between Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull). I thought it was going to be a fight between three teams anyway. » Let's wait for the next rounds to see if this appearance will remain as it is.

Find the analysis of the Australian GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2208 of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.