Hamilton solid and respectful: “Leclerc deserved to win”

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) is a hell of a pilot, it’s common knowledge. The way in which the Briton won the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, despite a car below its expectations and the pace of Ferrari in testing, is new evidence. 

@LewisHamilton: “I had to go and see @Charles_Leclerc because he did such a great job. I'm sure it was a devastating result for him because he'd done the job to win. He's got lots more wins coming in the future.' #DrivenByEachOther pic.twitter.com/Fl0FGqwI7B

—Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) March 31, 2019

The outgoing champion, however, started the event on the wrong foot, finishing the first round in fourth place, behind his teammate. Valtteri Bottas. He quickly took advantage of a failed braking by the Finn to move up a place, but his team's strategy would cause a pause in his comeback. 

Equipped with soft tires from his second stint, Lewis Hamilton very quickly suffered from the degradation of his rubber and was unable to capitalize on his successful undercut on Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari). He then waited for the second pit-stop to give the full measure of his sense of attack. 

In the 38th round, the duel between champions takes place. Lewis Hamilton tries to pass Sebastian Vettel on the outside of turn 4, and succeeds in the maneuver, even pushing the Ferrari into a spin. “It was great fun! There was a strong headwind, I braked very late and took the outside “, he recalls.

The last stone to be taken to win was easy to lay, after the mechanical problem suffered by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). « Charles did a great job, it must be hard for him to take. I went to see him. He deserved to win. It’s a great result for us, but this guy (Leclerc), a lot of victories are promised to him. »

Discover the analysis of the Bahrain GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2210 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.