Should Lewis Hamilton complete the Turkish Grand Prix without going to the pits?

Facts : On the 41st of 58 laps of the Turkish Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was leading the race and trying to reach the finish line without stopping. The wet track in fact made the obligatory rule of changing tires obsolete. Lewis Hamilton, then 4th, expressed the wish to try the same strategy. After several exchanges with his team, the Briton ended up stopping and losing his place to Sergio Pérez, whileEsteban Ocon took 10th place by finishing the Grand Prix without changing his tyres. Fifth, the seven-time world champion gave up his championship leadership position to Max Verstappen, for six points. So, should Lewis Hamilton have completed the Grand Prix without going to the pits? 

ALSO READ > Turkish Grand Prix report

YES, by Julien Billiotte

With "Ifs", we would bottle Paris but we can understand Lewis Hamilton's frustration on the evening of the Turkish Grand Prix. In a fight as intense as that for the 2021 title, the seven-time world champion knows that the slightest point can be very costly. Less than ten laps from the checkerboard, the driver Mercedes, who started 11th due to an engine penalty, was in 3rd position and was preparing to drop only 3 points against his great rival Max Verstappen (Red Bull). Hamilton also had a lead of more than 10 seconds over his closest pursuer, Sergio Pérez (Red Bull). The man who was then leader of the world championship did not want to return to the pits to put on a new set of Intermediates. If he had to do this, he would have had to act much sooner. The die had been cast and Hamilton now had to grit his teeth, take care of his rubber, and hope that the lucky star that had accompanied him for so many years would smile on him again.

Esteban Ocon's setbacks suggest that Sir Lewis's pace may have collapsed along with his worn-out tires. Maybe. But without offense to the French clan, Ocon is not Hamilton and theAlpine is not the Mercedes. How many times has the magician from Brackley (UK) defied the laws of physics to extend the life of his envelopes? It has even become a recurring joke in the paddock. “Bono, my tires are dead,” the Mercedes crackhead often exclaims on the radio to warn his track engineer Peter Bonnington that the situation is critical. Before completing 10 more rotations without blinking, a lap record at stake. I'm not saying that the end of the race would have been a cakewalk, but when we managed to win a Grand Prix on 3 wheels (Silverstone 2020), we can say to ourselves that the Gods of F1 watch over you.

The finish of the Turkish GP brought back the eternal debate between driver feeling and data visible on the screens on the pit wall, a fascinating duel between instinct and reason. Hamilton finally agreed with his team, wrongly thinking that he would not lose a position by fitting a new set of tires. “My gut told me that I had to stay out and continue,” he whispered after the checkerboard, visibly frustrated. Perhaps he would then have left Istanbul with just one point over Verstappen in the championship. At worst, he would have fallen on the field of honor with his panache and his ideas. It doesn't make any money but the romantic in me could only have appreciated it.

The only driver not to have made a stop during the Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon had to deal with thin tires. © Moy / XPB Images

NO, by Valentin Glo

The strategists of the different teams produced skull juice in abundance on the pit walls of Otodrom Istanbul Park. Of Daniel Ricciardo, first to pass from new intermediates, to an Esteban Ocon with thin tires at the finish, passing by a Sebastian Vettel ill-advised with his mediums, there were numerous bets on the Istanbul fat-mouille. In the field, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were emboldened with green tires with a surprisingly long life expectancy on a track with revised grip, following the Turkish remake of Holiday on Ice last year, with Valtteri Bottas in the role of Brian Joubert. The native of Nastola took top billing in this second opus, but his trouble-free performance was overshadowed by Lewis Hamilton.

As in Sochi two weeks earlier, the Briton debated at length with his engineers on the right decision to take. Convinced that he could pass the checkerboard on his inter-slick tires, the seven-time world champion initially refused to go through the pit, before resigning himself. By going to the end of the Grand Prix on his initial set of tires, the one who was still championship leader had much more to lose than to gain in his fight with Max Verstappen. The Englishman was in fact already condemned to losing points on his rival. Certainly, limiting the damage was important, but how much lap time would he concede if he did not return to the pits, how many places and therefore, points? Yes, Sir Lewis was certainly capable of imitating Esteban Ocon and finishing, but was he aware that the Frenchman was dropping seconds by handfuls in the final loops? The Habs themselves admitted that one more turn and they did not finish in the points. Yes, Hamilton is a miracle worker behind the wheel of his Mercedes but Sergio Pérez was not that far behind while Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris et Carlos Sainz would have come back at full speed with much less worn rubber.

Worse, given the blisters on those of theAlpine, the puncture threatened and Toto wolff confirmed that this was also the case for the car German. In such a tight fight for the world title, each abandonment will cost a lot in the final nest egg, especially with six rounds remaining. There is little room for recklessness in the hunt for the coronation, even less when it comes to a historic record. On Instagram, the main person himself admitted that he was not furious – contrary to what may have been said or written – against a decision which was indeed taken as a team, LH44 only giving the radio his feelings at the moment T. The Knight of the Queen himself thus recognizes that the decision taken to make a pit-stop was the right one. What is the point of insisting when a decision made is doomed to failure?