Hamilton: “I am a man of my word”

Lewis Hamilton kept his promise by leaving 3rd place to his teammate Valtteri Bottas at the Hungarian GP. The Finn respected team instructions by stepping aside in front of the three-time world champion to allow the latter to attempt an attack on the Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Rïkkönen. Unable to do so, the Briton eased off before the finish line to give way to the Nordic driver.

“I was on the attack, I had the pace, but I was stuck behind Valtteri Bottas and I couldn't warn the team that I was in the game”, explained Lewis Hamilton to the BBC, the pilot Mercedes having encountered radio communication problems with his stand.

Lewis Hamilton's gesture is all the more sporting as his teammate Valtteri Bottas was several seconds behind the triple world champion and was threatened by Max Verstappen (Red Bull).

“It's tough with the Championship in mind, but I'm a man of my word. It was hard to let go of 7s because I was also worried by Max Verstappen”, recognized Lewis Hamilton who is now 14 points behind Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), the winner of the Hungarian GP. The Briton would have been 11 points behind the Championship leader if he had decided to keep his 3rd place.

“We took the risk. It's important to keep your word, added Toto wolff, the executive chairman of Mercedes Motorsport. Maybe one day we will be told that it was in Budapest that we lost the title, but we want to continue this trend. Valtteri stepped aside at our request and Lewis did the same at the end. It's a nice gesture on their part. »

Discover the analysis of the Hungarian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2125 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.