Hamilton "impatient" in Brazil but showed great "sporting spirit"
F1 News
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
After a frustrating afternoon at Interlagos where he eventually dropped to seventh, Lewis Hamilton has been dubbed impatient in his move on Alex Albon which saw him getting a five-second penalty.
Hamilton started the race well, completing a move on Sebastian Vettel for second place behind eventual race winner Max Verstappen. He successfully undercut the Dutchman as well after the first stop, although Verstappen came right back to overtake the six-time champion only minutes later.
When the Safety Car was deployed, Hamilton stayed out while Verstappen pitted, giving him the lead once again. Again, Verstappen came back with a sensational move around the outside at turn 1.
Another Safety Car came and this time, Hamilton came in for new tyres, dropping him to fourth, behind the other Red Bull of Alex Albon. The 34-year-old was visibly frustrated with the way the race had gone and went for the move at turn 10, driving into Albon and costing the Thai driver his first podium in F1.
"Was Hamilton far enough alongside to have earned the right to some space?" Martin Brundle wondered in his Sky Sports F1 column.
"It was clear Albon would have to sweep into the apex at some point. He may have fared better covering the middle of the track but this would have compromised him a little through the next three corners.
"Lewis was impatient, and totally aligned with the man who instantly 100 per cent blamed himself for the contact. It would cost him a podium and move him back to seventh with a post-race five-second penalty.
"We have seen incidents earlier in the year under the 'let them race' philosophy where no penalty was applied. But willingly his trophy and champagne bottle was handed to McLaren and Carlos Sainz who later performed their own podium ceremony. Great sporting spirit all around. Love it."