Hamilton: such an early stop was necessary

Lewis Hamilton took only 2nd place at the Australian GP after losing to the Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel. The pilot Mercedes retained his pole advantage at the start of the race in Melbourne, but lost out to the quadruple world champion's SF70H during pit stops, stopping before the German and finding himself slowed down by traffic .

“First of all I have to congratulate Ferrari and Sebastian who have done an incredible job, declared Lewis Hamilton after the Australian Grand Prix. I had to stop because I was having difficulty with my tires. I found myself stuck behind a Red Bull (Max Verstappen) after I stopped, which sometimes happens. »

Hamilton worried at the end of the race

Lewis Hamilton subsequently complained of understeer on his Mercedes W08, even fearing that its flat bottom would be damaged.

“We suffered from a lack of grip from the start. Seb was able to respond on the times and was faster for most of the race. I was hampered by traffic in the last part of the race and my tires were starting to overheat and I was having trouble finding grip. It’s unfortunate, but that’s motorsport.”, put Lewis Hamilton into perspective.

Valtteri Bottas even came to worry Lewis Hamilton in the final laps of the Australian GP since he finished less than 2s from the triple world champion.

Discover the analysis of the Australian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2107 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.