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Irritated Hamilton questioned after being out-strategised by Russell
Before George Russell was disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix for his underweight car and Lewis Hamilton took P1, he drove a superb one-stop strategy that saw him earn what would have been the greatest Formula 1 win of his career so far. Straight after the race in Spa-Francorchamps, Hamilton cut an irritable figure, unhappy that Russell out-strategised him with the one-stop strategy to take victory. it's a reaction that has been questioned, and the latest to do so is former Grand Prix winner David Coulthard.
Hamilton led for the majority of the race in Spa after taking the lead in the early stages. However, after coming in during the second round of stops, Russell stayed out, allowing him to take the lead of the race and hold on to his hard tyres after saving them well. Hamilton closed the gap to Russell on the fresher tyres, but in the final few laps, he could not make the move, losing out on a second win of the season.
After the race, the 39-year-old questioned why he did not take advantage of the one-stop that was used to great effect by his teammate, annoyed at the fact that he was not made aware of this by his team, saying "Every stint, I had tyres left, but the team pulled me in. Unfortunate, but it is one of those days," during the post-race interviews.
Coulthard questions Hamilton's dejected reaction post-race
It was an interesting reaction from the seven-time World Champion, and it was a reaction that was questioned by Coulthard on the Formula For Success Podcast: "Before we found out that George was underweight, you could tell Lewis was not really happy that, strategically, he had been outmanoeuvred by his teammate. I don't really get that."
The former McLaren and Red Bull driver believed that Hamilton should have made his own decision to use a one-stop strategy to win the race, not allowing team orders, which clouded McLaren's performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix in the race previous, to influence the final result.
Coulthard continued by saying, "I don't fully get that. I don't know if there was some kind of agreement between them that would work for the greater good of the team. But Lewis did not look at all happy immediately after the Grand Prix being interviewed in the pen. He was almost saying, 'Well, I'll discuss this with the team behind closed doors, and I'll try to understand how I got out strategised by my teammate.'
"To be frank, I think that is the way it should be if a teammate and an engineer of the opposing car can find a better way to get to the end of the Grand Prix. I don't think it should be for you just because you are the number one driver. That is what we saw in Budapest where there was that really disappointing switcharoo," concluded Coulthard.
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