Lewis Hamilton has apologized to the Mercedes team after falling from third place at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Despite securing his best start to the season, a costly mistake by the Mercedes driver saw him go into defense on lap 33 of the race. He was running fourth behind Carlos Sanz Jr. at the time.
Hamilton suffered front wing damage that forced him to pit. Another mistake by Sebastian Vettel meant he lost a place to Max Verstappen and finished ninth.
“I think we’ve had a decent start to the weekend and it’s disappointing,” Hamilton told Sky.
“Obviously it’s hard to get to and the lock turned to seven, when these things happen your heart sinks a bit. I tried to pass Seb, but he was wet inside.
“When you fall, get up and try again. It wasn’t the greatest day.”
With a series of Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car interventions in the first half of the race, Hamilton argued with race engineer Peter Bonnington about pitting for slippery tires on a slowly drying track. He then hit the barrier at turn seven, which was still in the middle stage before drivers started digging for a flat tire.
He said the switch to dry tires was crucial in his battle with Sainz for the final podium spot.
“We probably could have cut him,” Hamilton said. “But the fight wasn’t downtrodden, it was about who would get down the slide first and it would be dice and dice.
“So I was hoping for that and that’s what I was working towards, but when I closed it, it went out the window. So I apologize to the team. But we live and learn and survive.
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2022 Singapore Grand Prix
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