Lewis Hamilton dropped from second on the grid to near the rear of the field after Ferrari opted to start on slick tyres in wet conditions at the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix; Hamilton fought back to claim a podium amid further strategy debate during the race Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Lewis Hamilton said he was pushing to start on intermediate tyres before the choice of a slick compound led to a disastrous beginning to the Bahrain Grand Prix for Ferrari. Hamilton had qualified second on the grid at the Sepang International Circuit – with Malaysia hosting the race amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East – but his hopes of victory were blown as Ferrari chose to start both him and team-mate Charles Leclerc on soft slick tyres in the hope that the wet track would quickly dry out once the cars took to it. Max Verstappen, who won the race for Red Bull from pole position, and third-placed starter Kimi Antonelli were among the 14 out of 22 drivers that started on the intermediate tyre, with that group gaining a huge advantage as the slick-tyre runners dropped more than a minute off the lead in the opening stages. Hamilton ultimately produced a remarkable comeback, having at one stage dropped to 18th, to claim a podium in third, but was left with “mixed emotions” after the race over the decision made following the rain delay at the start of the race.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The seven-time world champion confirmed to Sky Sports F1 that he believed he had the pace to compete for victory, and said: “It’s a mixed emotion. On one side I’m really grateful to have got back to the podium. “And then on the other side, with the debates that we were having in the background, to then see the covers come off the car ahead and the one behind, them on wets and us on slicks, and the track being so tricky and dangerous at the beginning, it was definitely… my heart sank, and I was like, ‘that’s the race over’.” Speaking in the post-race press conference, Hamilton added: “There was such a long wait and we were debating on what tyre to go on to. And I said, ‘look, there was a lot of spray on the laps to the grid’.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player “And I went into the pit lane, I looked at the ground, I was like, ‘it’s still wet’. I went to the pit wall and I was like, ‘it’s still wet’. And they’re like, ‘yeah, but because it’s been so long, it’s definitely going to dry up real quick and maybe we’re already in the crossover’. “So, anyways, as a team, we ended up taking that soft and when we were at the end of the pit lane and these two took off their blankets and they’re on inters, we were in trouble.” Hamilton then had to take matters into his own hands to avoid the initial mistake being compounded as the Ferrari pit wall attempted to call him in to move onto intermediate tyres on lap five.
Hamilton rejected the call, insisting that the team had made “a gamble” that they must now stick with in the hope the track dried out. The decision paid off as the track drying and a Safety Car caused by Valtteri Bottas spinning his Cadillac into the gravel brought Hamilton back into play, before he began to surge through the field. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Hamilton said: “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’. “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.” Asked about his choice to “gamble” and what he will say to ensure better decisions are made in future, Hamilton replied: “Yeah, not going to go to the casino with the guys.” Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur praised an overall “strong performance” from his team and bemoaned the difficulty of the decision they faced at the start. Leclerc, who Ferrari did switch onto intermediates in the early stages, also produced a strong recovery drive to finish behind Hamilton in fourth. “Overall, it’s a good result. If you consider that we were 21 and 22 on lap one, it’s a very strong performance,” Vasseur said, exaggerating slightly how far back his drivers fell at the start.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player “The choice of the tyres, you can discuss at length. But I think 50 per cent of the cars went for slick, 50 for inters – from the pit lane you don’t have the global picture of the track, and it’s not easy to understand what is the exact situation, but, for sure, we were on the wrong side. “Charles had contact on lap one and we had to pit to change the nose. To come back from this position to finish P3, P4, it’s a strong result for the team.
“Now we have to do the next step, but I’m quite happy with the Sunday afternoon, at least after 4.30pm we did a good job.” Formula 1 heads straight to Singapore for the last Sprint weekend of the season with track action starting this Friday, live on Sky Sports F1.
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