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Watch | The moment that cost Lewis Hamilton pole position in Russia
Going into the weekend, it looked like it was a sure-fire pole position for either Valtteri Bottas or Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes continued to reign supreme in Russia. However, changing track conditions in the final qualifying session gave teams and drivers a tyre headache.
Changing to slicks
Q1 and Q2 were completed with intermediates, and the first run in the final session also saw the green striped tyre. But the midfield teams opted to roll the dice and try the slicks. This forced Mercedes to follow suit, and Hamilton hit the wall on his way to the pitbox. This also hampered Valtteri Bottas who had to wait longer for his change of tyres.
I'm a mechanic at Mercedes when my idol Lewis Hamilton bashed the pit wall. "How can my idol do this to us!" I spent my entire life building that wall. I was shocked but not surprised. Shame on you Lewis! pic.twitter.com/x9mmnNJiSe
— Punished Verstappen (@PunishedStappen) September 25, 2021