LEWIS HAMILTON narrowly avoided being hit directly as debris from Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari struck his car – taking a wing mirror clean off.
Leclerc had collided with Max Verstappen on the first corner of the Japanese Grand Prix.
And while Verstappen’s Red Bull spun off the track – Leclerc’s front wing took considerable damage.
But despite Ferrari chiefs ordering the 21-year-old to head straight into the pits.
The man from Monte Carlo ignored their orders – enraging Hamilton.
And the Brit’s mood was certainly not improved when his car was hit by a piece of debris from Leclerc’s stricken Ferrari.
Hamilton fumed: “How he’s not been given a warning flag I don’t know.
“[He’s] Lost a wing mirror.”
Eventually Leclerc obeyed his team and pitted later that lap – dropping him down the grid.
And his car continued to show signs of damage as the race went on – losing a wing mirror of its own later in the race.
Hamilton went on to finish third behind Sebastian Vettel and eventual winner and nearest challenger in the overall standings, Valtteri Bottas.
And after the race the 34-year-old was also fuming at his own team’s decisions.
He said: “I came out from the pits and realised I lost ten seconds — and I am like, why?
“If they told me I’d have been that far behind Valtteri, I would have said no to them and stopped earlier.
“Naturally, we will sit and talk to the engineers and strategists. There will be discussions when we get back.”
Hamilton still leads his Mercedes team-mate Bottas by 338 points to 274 going into the final four races of the season.
Next up is the Mexican Grand Prix – followed by the last three races of the season in the US, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
