Miami – Why Lewis Hamilton didn't stop under safety car regime

At the Miami Grand Prix, the bad streak continued for Lewis Hamilton who finished in 6th place. This Sunday at the finish line, the Briton completed a 4th race behind his compatriot, George Russell (5th). Since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion has not been able to get the better of his teammate. We have to go back to the 2016 season to find traces of such a complicated start to the campaign for the seven-time world champion. That season, Nico Rosberg won the first 4 Grands Prix, leaving only crumbs for his garage neighbor.

In Florida last weekend, Lewis Hamilton was once again the victim of bad luck as he headed towards a potential Top 5. On the 41st lap, the collision between Lando Norris et Pierre Gasly forced the marshals to deploy the VSC before the real safety car entered the track a few moments later. Moment chosen by George Russell to make his only stop while Lewis Hamilton remained on the track. A choice which surprised more than one and which allowed the young Englishman to gain the upper hand over his teammate thanks to fresher tyres.

« The safety car came at the wrong time for Lewis, explains Mike Elliott, technical director Mercedes, when discussing the choice of leaving his champion on the track. If we hadn't stopped Lewis he would have had George behind him on fresher tyres. If we had stopped him, he would have lost position on George as well. No matter the decision, he would have finished behind George. » Faced with this situation, the Mercedes engineers, after asking the protagonist's opinion, decided not to call the Briton to his stand. 

Racing facts against Lewis Hamilton

« Although Lewis would have had new tires, the only tires we had available were the hard or soft ones. While you might think the tenders would have been a good solution, we knew they would have overheated very quickly. So, we were in this position where we were kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place and there wasn't really a right answer. » 

Silver Arrows side-by-side in Miami ⚔️ Fun battle between Lewis and George last Sunday 👊pic.twitter.com/bZ8jjuG5Ns

—Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 10, 2022

With his tires worn out, Lewis Hamilton was ultimately not going to be able to do anything against George Russell. Although he returned to 5th after the small error of Valtteri Bottas in the last corner, the seven-time world champion would logically lose to George Russell on the 50th lap of the race for a 6th place at the finish, the same as at the start. “ It was therefore the circumstances on the track which caused Lewis to lose because of the safety car. Unfortunately, Lewis has been unlucky on several occasions this season, but that's the way things go. I hope that over the course of the season this will even out and he can take advantage of the safety cars in future races », concludes Mike Eliott. With the Barcelona Grand Prix looming in a week (May 20-22), Lewis Hamilton will try to reduce the gap in the standings with George Russell who has a 23-point lead after 5 Grands Prix. 

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