LEWIS HAMILTON was forced to admit defeat in the Hungary Grand Prix after getting off to a disastrous start at the Hungaroring.
Hamilton started first on the grid after securing pole in qualifying yesterday.
But he was overtaken by a rampant Max Verstappen on the first corner.
Matters were compounded by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris also overtaking Hamilton during the first lap – which saw Hamilton drop to fourth.
Hamilton apologised to his team over the radio after the poor start, simply saying: “sorry about that guys”.
Race engineer Peter Bonnington was keen to keep Hamilton’s spirits up however, and said: “Don’t sweat it, Lewis. It’s going to be a long, hot race.”
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He was unable to match the race pace of the two McLaren’s in front of them as they began to build a formidable gap as the race went on.
Hamilton was becoming increasingly frustrated before admitting he could not compete with the two cars in front of him.
He said: “Definitely don’t have the pace to overtake these guys.”
His frustration continued later in the race, saying: “How have they got nine seconds all of a sudden. That’s a crazy amount.”
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Hamilton then questioned the performance of his hardware as Verstappen opened a 20 second lead on his Mercedes.
He asked his team over the radio: “Are you turning the engine down?”
To which the reply over the radio was: “Negative, Lewis. Just managing the temp situation.”
Hamilton would go on to finish fourth in Hungary in what was quite a frustrating race for the Brit.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
