Hamilton slowed down by overheating concerns

Lewis Hamilton achieved his worst result since the start of the season by falling just short of the podium at the Russian GP in Sochi. The pilot Mercedes, already behind during qualifying, was unable to gain a place in the race while his teammate Valtteri Bottas scored his first victory in F1.

“I congratulate Valtteri who did an exceptional job and who really deserves this victory, commented Lewis Hamilton. He was fast all weekend. He's a fantastic teammate to work with and I know he feels amazing about winning his first Grand Prix. »

“The weekend was complicated for me. I just wasn't fast enough, recognized Lewis Hamilton. I never have such cooling problems before and I was never able to take my chance in racing. I had the speed to fight with Kimi (Räikkönen), but the car was just overheating too much. At least I bring points back to the team but I hope to find my rhythm again during the next event (in Barcelona, ​​May 14). »

Lewis Hamilton retains his 2nd place in the Championship but finds himself 13 points behind Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), while Valtteri Bottas is 10 lengths behind the Briton.

Discover the analysis of the Russian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2112 of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version on all platforms, and from Thursday on newsstands.