Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1
Lewis Hamilton appeared to show his frustration at Mercedes' strategy as he spoke to Oscar Piastri in the cooldown room after Sunday's Belgium Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion looked odds on to secure his second victory of the 2024 season as he put pressure on Mercedes teammate George Russell in the closing stages.
Russell was the only driver in the top 10 to make a single pit stop whilst Hamilton was on fresher tyres.
But much to the frustration of Hamilton, who was critical of Mercedes' strategy in qualifying, his fellow Brit secured an unlikely victory at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps after he gambled on a one-stopper.
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The latter looked far from happy with the situation in the cooldown room. In fact, Hamilton told McLaren's Oscar Piastri that his tyres were fine when he was pitted.
Speaking after the race, Hamilton said: “I was trying to get close to George, he did a great job going long on the tyres. Every stint I had tyres left but the team pulled me in. Unfortunate, but it is what it is.”
He added: “You have to put the faith in the people you work with. I put my faith in my strategists, I should be able to lean on them fully.
"I told them that the tyres were fine. They pulled me in... did I know that I was at risk of getting one stopped by my teammate? They didn’t tell me that."
Hamilton, who has finished on the podium in four of the last five races, appeared frustrated by the overall strategy in Belgium.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, meanwhile, explained why they had no choice but to pit him.
“I’d like to have two winners today,” Wolff said. “But we had to cover Leclerc and Norris because we would’ve been undercut, so that was the call. George had nothing to lose. We were P5.
“The one-stop and the two-stops were showing P5 so we just kept him out. He was very good. Lewis was very good. The strategy played for George, and not for Lewis. I’d like to have two winners today.”
“We didn’t think it was possible,” he added. “But, at a certain stage, we said ‘let’s stay out’ because we would have finished fifth anyway, in both scenarios. He made it last.”
