General
Hamilton explains radio message; "You put me in a difficult position"
- Rafael Diaz Lehmann
Hamilton finished fourth place at the Australian Grand Prix, just behind his teammate George Russell in third. Despite the obvious gap between the Silver Arrows and the likes of Rd Bull and Ferrari, Hamilton remains positive.
Mercedes were back in better form in Australia after the extreme disapointment of Saudi Arabia, picking up P3 and P4. However, it was George Russel, not seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton that was on the podium. Despite this, Hamilton's praise for the team's performance was glowing.
"It's a great result as a team. In this weekend we've had so many difficult moments with the car, to get ourselves fifth and sixth in qualifying to progress like we have and have the reliability, we didn't expect 3rd and 4th," the Brit stated to Sky.
Praise for Russell
"George did a good job today. I saw the battle with him racing Perez, I wish I could've been in it but nonetheless we take these points and continue pushing," Hamilton praised his young teammate. Despite inheriting the podium position through luck with a Safety Car and Max Verstappen's retirement, Russell held off Hamilton fairly to finish on the podium.
Hidden frustration?
During the race Hamilton seemed frustrated with his team for being stuck behind his temmate. He directed his thoughts over the team radio during the closing stages of the race, stating; "You put me in a difficult position."
When speaking to Sky Hamilton explained, "I couldn't fight for third because the engine was overheating so I had to back off and sit behind. We bagged as many points as we could as a team and that's great."