Hamilton teaches Norris a lesson: 'He should've done that'
F1 News
Lewis Hamilton has been the flagbearer of British Formula 1 racing for almost two decades. The 39-year-old will not retire anytime soon, as he will start a multi-year deal at Ferrari in 2025; however, George Russell and Lando Norris are preparing themselves to take over as the leading Brit in F1. During the sprint race in China, Hamilton taught Norris a lesson that could come in handy for future world championship battles against Max Verstappen and others.
Russell has been closer to Hamilton as his teammate at Mercedes. But it was Norris who was taught a lesson by the seven-time World Champion in China. The two Brits shared the front row for the sprint race. Hamilton got the better of pole-sitter Norris off the line and into turn one. The older Brit held the inside line and left Norris out to dry where there was no grip.
How did Norris react?
The result: Norris ended up fighting the likes of Charles Leclerc and his teammate Oscar Piastri for a small number of points rather than mixing in with world champions Hamilton, Verstappen and Fernando Alonso at the front of the field.
Norris knew he had his work cut out ahead of the sprint race, but he would've expected a decent number of points. Instead, Norris scored three points (out of eight). It still means he has scored more than double the amount of points Hamilton has so far in 2024. In China though, Norris lost out but doesn't know what he could've done better.
"He [Hamilton] did a good job. I'm disappointed. I did a bad job. I made a mistake. But that happens. I don't know what else I really should have tried at that point. I'm not just going to give up the position, but maybe I should have done. Lewis drove a good race, so well done," Norris said on Viaplay.
Hamilton teaches Norris an F1 lesson
Hamilton didn't reply directly to Norris' answer, but he taught Norris a lesson at the press conference. He explained what he thought Norris should've done in that situation, thus unknowingly answering the younger Brit's question.
"I obviously got a great start and was on the inside line. He tried to hold the outside line, and we both pushed to the maximum. I used everything to try and hold position, and eventually, I think he just ended up on the dirty bits on the outside and then lost it. There’s a point when you go a bit too far, then there's there's no grip out there, and I think that's what he eventually found," Hamilton said.
"In that scenario, he should have conceded and parked behind me. He would have had the pace to overtake me because the McLaren is very quick, but I know he lost a lot of ground there. That's racing," Hamilton concluded his lesson.