Third on his injured beast, Lewis Hamilton limited the damage as best he could at Sakhir
Following on from Melbourne, Lewis Hamilton had to turn around a situation compromised by a botched start. After coming within a whisker of colliding with Bottas at the first corner, the reigning World Champion doesn't seem to be « worried » about his current situation, 17 points behind his team-mate.
In two starts this season, Lewis Hamilton has already had many scares! After a complicated start in Melbourne, he found himself once again in the heart of the pack, this time victim to Valtteri Bottas’s late braking. But his takeoff was still very delicate: he is therefore back in the spotlight. Facing journalists, the Briton tried to explain: « I didn’t get a good start, but it wasn’t as bad as last time! The two incidents in these two races are completely different, both certainly painful, but this one could have been more serious! »
« *The first start in Australia was tricky due to a wheelspin issue, this one is not due to a significant problem* » he added.
«We need to see how we can rework the entire process. It’s not entirely my fault, even though ultimately, it’s still my lack of reaction that costs time at the start of the race.»
In any case, he doesn’t seem profoundly worried about these different issues: “This situation is like a psychological game. But with my age and experience now, I am in a better position than I was before.”
At least, the driver with the number 44 did not get bored, especially in this first part of the race, busy catching up: « From there, I tried to climb up the standings and get some good points. I’m proud that I didn’t lose too many points along the way. I could very well not have finished the race: the damage to my car was such that it prevented me from properly fighting with Kimi. »
Bottas vs hamilton pic.twitter.com/K2hj9s3fmK
— creme ácido (@CremeAcido) April 3, 2016
Ending up effectively behind Iceman, can Hamilton legitimately fear the pace of the Ferraris? He dismisses this rumor with a wave of his hand: « *I can assure you that Nico did not push to the maximum after the first 10 laps.* »
Toto Wolff, for his part, praised the fighting spirit of his champion for his climb back onto the podium.
Paddy Lowe also showed empathy: « Lewis was able to recover big points but that starting accident is really damaging, he couldn’t convert his fantastic pole position into a victory, although it’s not entirely his fault. »
In any case, even though we’re only two races in, the situation can quickly become problematic for the triple World Champion who is now 17 points behind Nico Rosberg. But as he himself stated: *the season is still long!* Hamilton will therefore head to China to set things straight, the very place where he achieved the hat-trick: pole, victory, and fastest lap. His competitors have been warned!
Now, I’m looking forward to going to China for the next race, because it’s a track that has been good for me for a few years, so I hope things will go my way there this time.
