Hamilton: “Formula 1 is heading in the wrong direction!”
Lewis Hamilton did not mince his words after a race made difficult by his aging engine. Finishing fifth in Canada, he relinquished the championship lead to Sebastian Vettel by one point.
At the heart of his garden (six victories!), Lewis Hamilton did not compete for the win this time on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. After an already disappointing fourth place in qualifying, the Mercedes driver lost one position at the finish of the race, overtaken by Ricciardo after his pit stop, made on the 17th lap. But above all, the four-time world champion is almost pleased with this result. He explains.
« I had an engine problem, I didn’t have enough power, especially on the straights! My race was
long: I thought the engine was going to give up! I’m already happy to finish these 70 laps and take these points. I could have lost more…
His power difficulties can be explained as follows: Hamilton was simply using engine elements… mostly installed in Melbourne! With only three engine blocks available for the entire season (MGU-H, MGU-K, Turbocharger), the Mercedes team is conserving parts to avoid any penalties at the end of the season. On a circuit where 60% of the time is spent at full speed, it was difficult for the Briton to do more with this worn-out equipment, as he was only able to catch up to Ricciardo’s Red Bull at the end of the race. Speaking to Sky Sports, his message was unequivocal towards the FIA.
« I hope they do something for the next two years because it’s just getting ridiculous! »
« It’s really nicer when we have more engines! I don’t think anyone wants the championship to be decided by reliability issues. We want real performances, I think the sport is going in the wrong direction, in my opinion! »
Leading the championship for four races, the Englishman has now given up the top spot in the overall standings to Vettel: 120 to 121 points. Despite his setback, the driver with the number 44 remains positive and is already thinking about the next Grand Prix in France, which will certainly allow him to regain the competitiveness of his car.
« It’s already good to have finished this weekend. I hope it will be better with a brand new engine in France! »
DRIVER STANDINGS
We have a new championship leader, one third into the season
Vettel leads Hamilton by just ONE point 👀#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #F1 pic.twitter.com/eCpg02TCq3
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 10, 2018
