Lewis Hamilton: “There was a space”

It was to be the Grand Prix of the return of Lewis Hamilton at the forefront. After laying the first foundations for potential success with pole position in qualifying, the Briton saw his teammate Nico Rosberg take the lead at the first corner after the lights went out in Barcelona.

But a poor choice of engine mode for Rosberg allowed Hamilton to get closer exiting turn 3 on the Catalan layout. The World Champion then believes he has achieved what he had to do.

“I caught up with Nico very quickly and decided to take the space on the right, comments the Briton. I had part of my car next to him, but I was forced to pass through the grass. There was space, and if you're a race car driver, you try to take up space. We saw what happened next (watch the video). "

Not penalized, just like his teammate, by the race commissioners, Hamilton remained very disappointed, with another opportunity to regain the victory gone. “I’m disappointed for the team. We lost 43 points today. When I pulled into the gravel trap, all I could think about was how bummed I was for the team. We will move forward together, and come back stronger to Monaco. »

Find the report and analysis of the Spanish Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Barcelona, ​​in issue 2063 of AUTOhebdo, available from tomorrow evening at 22 p.m. in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.