From Sepang celebration to Singapore disappointment: Can Lewis Hamilton bounce back in Austin?
Lewis Hamilton went from acclaim to anguish within a week. A rogue strategy call from Ferrari dropped Hamilton to the back of the grid, almost writing him off from contention.
Yet, the gamble ultimately paid off, with the Briton sealing a superb third-place finish. But, the podium couldn’t be replicated seven days later, with Hamilton struggling with illness and dropping from third to sixth.
A race day for the ages in Sepang
After a disappointing race in Azerbaijan, Lewis Hamilton entered the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on the hunt for redemption, as the Briton began to drop further behind Kimi Antonelli in the driver's standings.
Aiming to bridge the gap, Hamilton posted a best time of 1:35.428, which secured him a starting place of second, after his time was only three-tenths adrift of Max Verstappen’s pole time.
The excitement was in the air with Hamilton now in contention for his second victory of the season, and even more so as it is only the second time in five years that Verstappen and Hamilton started on the front row together.
Teammate Charles Leclerc started down in fifth, with both the drivers' standings and the constructors’ championship on the line; Ferrari aimed to maximise their points.
Torrential downpours and lightning at the Sepang circuit initially delayed the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia by 40 minutes. But when the race looked set to get underway, it was further delayed after several drivers, including Hamilton, struggled with a software bug, which meant they either stopped or crawled around the circuit.
Almost an hour and a half later, the issues were fixed, and tyre warmers were removed from the cars. However, it became apparent that the Scuderia had opted for a rogue strategy with slick tyres, while the majority of the grid remained on intermediate tyres. Those on slick tyres quickly realised the track hadn’t dried, leaving the drivers to feel like they were driving on ice.
It was later revealed that the Briton had asked Ferrari to start the delayed race on intermediates, but he was overruled, leaving both him and his teammate to slide down the order into 17th and 18th position and, significantly, almost over a minute behind Max Verstappen at the front.
Desperate to recover their race, Ferrari attempted to call Hamilton in on Lap 5 for a switch to intermediates, but Hamilton refused, stating that the team made ‘a gamble’, and they must stick with the plan, in the hope of a drying track.
But when it looked almost impossible to come back, the team were thrown a lifeline when Valtteri Bottas spun onto the gravel, bringing out the full safety car.
"We just had to stick with it. Like, we've made the decision and live with it. And I think then, through that, as everyone's overtaken me, they're like, 'we stop'.” Hamilton explained to Sky Sports following the race.
"Because I know we've already made another 26 seconds. What's the difference from that with one minute 40 [seconds] or whatever I was down? So I was just, 'let's just wait it out for the track to dry'.
"And once it did, it felt good that I was catching people. The car felt great then after that. Really good pit stops from my guys in the garage and then good strategy. But for us to get back to the podium, I never thought that that was going to be the case. But, of course, I'm really grateful that we managed to get back here."
The ‘gamble’ Hamilton played was the ace of spades, as he soared through the pack, making up crucial track position and inching closer to the podium. In the closing stages of the race, Hamilton, in fifth, began chasing down Isack Hadjar, whom he successfully passed, but his charge for compatriot George Russell was halted as Alex Albon stopped on track.
After a lengthy safety car period due to Sergio Perez needing to unlap himself, another stroke of luck came the seven-time world champion's way, as George Russell pulled to the side and retired due to a power unit failure. When the race restarted, Hamilton was running in third, and a few laps later, his result was cemented.
“I think it’s bittersweet," Hamilton said following the race.
"We had an opportunity and ultimately didn’t maximise it. I had a tough [time] at the beginning, but after the race got going and I managed to keep it on track — which, I’m telling you, was so, so hard.
“I didn’t think that I’d be able to get back to third place, so I’m very, very grateful for that and very happy with it.
"Obviously we had the wrong call in the beginning, which was so difficult and I could see everyone just pulling away,"
“I could see on the screen it was a minute down, and I thought that was kind of race over for us. But I just kept my head down; the guys did a great job with the pit stops – obviously lots of tyre changes and lots of chasing."
An unlucky weekend in Singapore
Hamilton aimed to carry the momentum into Singapore, hoping to claim his fifth victory at the track. He started the weekend off strongly, with a podium during the sprint race, but faced disappointment in qualifying following the delayed 21-lap sprint as he placed his car into sixth.
Hamilton was running in third when the Virtual Safety Car was brought out, providing the perfect opportunity to head into the pits for a fresh set of tyres.
But the Briton overrode the decision and opted to stay out, an interesting call of strategy that the seven-time world champion would later suffer from. The three drivers behind on fresh sets of Pirellis, Kimi Antonelli and the pair of McLarens, overtook Hamilton in the latter stages of the race.
Hamilton was excused from media duties following the excessive heat causing him to become unwell, but he released a statement through Ferrari which read:
"Today wasn't the result we were looking for, and it was on me," Hamilton expressed.
"At a track that's difficult to overtake, you need to try something different, and I chose to start on a new medium tyre, to go long and try to make a one-stop work. Unfortunately, the Medium didn't perform as well as the soft.
"I had a good second stint, and the pace was back, but I couldn't make the progress I needed. Under the VSC, the team called me in, but I missed the entry. After that, I decided to stay out and try to hold track position to the end, but in the closing laps, I was struggling massively with tyre degradation and lost three places, finishing P6, which doesn't reflect the pace we had in the car today.
"A painful lesson today, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. Not every call will work out, and I can accept getting it wrong, but I'm sorry for the team for the points we lost today. They put so much into every weekend, and I wanted to deliver more for them.
"I'll continue to put the work in and come back fighting at the next race,” the statement concluded.
After the disappointment in Singapore, Hamilton now sits 111 points adrift of Kimi Antonelli in the standings, a gap which realistically will be hard to overcome in the final seven races. While Hamilton has produced some special magic before, the wait for the elusive eighth championship may continue.
What won’t be forgotten, though, is his unnerving determination to fight through the field to get back into a podium position, after what seemed like an early conclusion to his race. It once again highlights why the Briton is regarded as one of the best drivers in history.
Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
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