Hamilton: 'Max was just faster'

Lewis Hamilton took advantage of the retirement of Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari), the Championship leader had to give in after the first round against Max Verstappen (Red Bull) which was significantly faster than the Mercedes the day after his 20th birthday.

“I congratulate Max and wish him a happy birthday, commented Lewis Hamilton. This race was difficult. We still have work to do on the car. We weren't on the pace today. I didn't really know where Max was (when he performed his overtaking maneuver) and I was having battery problems. I wanted to defend myself without trying to take too many risks. So I gave him enough space without closing the door too much. »

“Max was just faster and it would have been difficult to resist anyway, even if he hadn't passed me so early. We suffered with both types of tires. The problems encountered with this car were particularly present in certain sectors of the circuit. There is a fundamental problem and we must improve on this for next season”, adds Lewis Hamilton.

The Mercedes driver still carried out a good operation by increasing his lead by six points over Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) who finds himself 34 units behind the Championship leader after having had to start from last place due to mechanical problems which prevented him from qualifying.

Discover the analysis of the Malaysian GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2134 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.