Yesterday saw one of the jewels in the Formula 1 crown, the Monaco Grand Prix, take place and current king of the track Lewis Hamilton will not be too happy with how things played out.
Hamilton was set to coast to victory when, with 13 laps to go, Max Verstappen was involved in a nasty accident (below) that saw the safety cars deployed. Mercedes and Hamilton decided to use this opportunity to switch up their tyres during a pit stop, with Hamilton and his team mistakenly thinking that the drivers in pursuit were doing the same.
Alas they were not, and when Lewis emerged from the pits he found himself back in third place. The championship leader tried to shoulder some of the blame, saying a track-side screen he glanced at made him believe that Nico Rosberg had pitted.
His team weren’t having it, however, and attempted to appease Hamilton by laying the blame at their own feet. Here’s Sky Sports:
“It was our decision to call him in and our mistake, pure and simple; in these situations, a driver trusts his team,” team chief Toto Wolff said.
“Lewis had driven flawlessly until then and really delivered a perfect weekend, with a stunning pole lap and a masterful race. There’s nothing more to say other than to highlight the grace with which he handled the situation; he was a leader and a true sportsman this afternoon.”
Monaco is notorious for its narrow streets, making it near impossible for drivers to overtake each other, and Hamilton was unable to overtake the front two.
You can almost hear the post-race podium hostesses breathing a sigh of relief.
[source:skysports]
