Niki Lauda apologizes to Hamilton after Sepang

Mercedes F1 does not seem to have been offended by the declarations of Lewis Hamilton after his retirement from the Malaysian Grand Prix following an engine failure. The three-time world champion spoke “something or someone doesn’t (want) him to win this year” before clarifying his words by evoking a divine thing.

Niki Lauda supported the Briton out of conviction or in order to escape a controversy which could disrupt the team and its driver while the next Japanese Grand Prix will be contested this weekend at Suzuka.

“I know Lewis very well and he will never blame the team, assured the non-executive vice-president of the star-studded team. These interpretations are unacceptable. Lewis knows that we do everything possible to provide him with the best car and the best engine. I'm really sorry, I apologize to him. »

“It was a recent engine and we do not know the cause of this breakage. No one can call it sabotage if we don't know the origin of the problem. Why would we start doing that after he won two titles with us? This is completely ridiculous and stupid.", added the Austrian.

Niki Lauda supported Lewis Hamilton's explanations, forced to clarify his remarks.

“If I was unlucky and couldn't find an explanation, I would tell myself that I would have done something wrong if a god existed. I have said stupid things in my career when I was angry. I'm not saying what Lewis said was stupid, but these things can happen. It’s emotional and completely understandable.”, specified Niki Lauda.

Malaysian Grand Prix results

Discover the analysis of the Malaysian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2083 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.