F1 News
Hamilton "redeemed himself" with good start in China
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton has said he "kind of redeemed himself" after his lightning start in China last weekend, as the 34-year-old has been struggling with starts in the first two races of the season, as well as famously in 2016.
The roles were reversed in Shanghai compared to Australia, when Hamilton was on pole but Bottas soared past him in the first corner and eventually won the race. This time, it was Bottas on pole but Hamilton who shot away at the start and eventually won the race with relative ease.
Reflecting on his start, Hamilton was happy that it helped him gain an advantage rather than the other way around.
“It’s been something I’ve struggled with over the years - 2016, you could say, was one of the worst," he was quoted by Crash.net.
"Probably back in 2007, 2008 was also really poor period of time for starts, particularly against the Ferraris who were very, very strong with it.
“Last year was actually a really strong year for me. I think I just finished second overall of quickest starts throughout the year to, I think it was Carlos Sainz or something like that. Arguably it was first – but it’s dependent on the GPS.
“The first few races have been difficult for me off the line, so it’s nice to finally kind of redeem myself and rectify that. Naturally the next 18 races can still be up and down, just have to keep working at it.”