Lewis Hamilton endured a dreadful day at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, only scoring points because Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crashed into each other in the closing stages of the race
Toto Wolff was left unsurprised by Lewis Hamilton’s difficult race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Hamilton was forced to start from the pit lane on Sunday after Mercedes opted to take a penalty for putting a new engine in his car, exceeding their limit for the season. The Brit struggled to fight back through the pack in the race.
He would ultimately finish ninth, though only claimed points because podium-chasing Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crashed out in the final few laps. Hamilton was left unimpressed after the race and failed to acknowledge boss Wolff over team radio after the chequered flag.
Hamilton’s unhappiness was not a surprise for Wolff though, with the seven-time world champion now entering his final seven races with the Silver Arrows. Wolff though insisted things will get better for the 39-year-old.
Hamilton struggled to fight through the pack after starting Sunday’s race from the pitlane (
Getty Images)
Hamilton struggled to hide his disappointment over Sunday’s race, despite Wolff’s promise of better times to come. The Brit will join Ferrari at the end of the season, though is putting his full focus into Mercedes.
“Today was a difficult race. We had a good day on Friday, but the rest of the weekend was tough. We made some changes heading into Saturday that didn’t work out, but we had to live with them,” he said.
“We also knew it would be challenging to overtake today. Despite the long straight, it is hard to follow through the second sector. Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman, who I was racing for a lot of the afternoon, did such a great job.
“It is great to see the youngsters like them coming through and doing so well. For their first and second races, it was very impressive. Despite how tough my own race was, the positives are that George had a decent race and was able to score some good points for the team.
“We’ve also got lots of data to work through ahead of Singapore. We’ve got some upgrades coming before the end of the year so hopefully we can make a step closer to those at the front soon.”