Hamilton: “I forced him to make a mistake”

Lewis Hamilton won his 5th victory of the season, the 78th of his career, by winning the Canadian GP for the 7th time. The pilot Mercedes was however beaten by Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, but he took advantage of a penalty imposed on the German to maintain the star manufacturer's invincibility this season.

If Sebastian Vettel was very upset by this sanction, Lewis Hamilton necessarily had a different opinion even if the public was committed to the cause of the Ferrari driver.

“I had to avoid the collision, he explained. I wanted him to make a mistake and he made it. The rule says he has to return to the track safely and he came right back into my line. I had to throw myself on the brakes to avoid contact. We didn't deserve to be whistled on the podium because we did an exceptional job this weekend. »

Mercedes executive director F1 Toto wolff agreed with the opinion of his pilot at the microphone of Canal+, even if he suggested that the penalty could seem severe for the German.

“It was a very difficult weekend for us. Half the team was sick, we didn't know if we were going to have all the pieces, declared the Austrian. It’s a good thing to have emotions in sport. But the rule is simple and it must be applied. Everything is not black or white. The situation was perhaps a little more favorable to Lewis, at 60-40. We must respect the decision of the commissioners. It could be one way or the other. »

Discover the analysis of the Canadian GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2220 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.