F1

RED BULL boss Christian Horner claimed after the Turkish Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton’s tyres were ‘dangerous’ and it was inevitable that he would pit. Hamilton, 36, suffered a disappointing finish to the Turkish Grand Prix after battling back from fuftheleventh on the grid to finish, way behind championship rival Max Verstappen in second.
Hamilton was furious with the Mercedes team for telling him to pit in lap 51Credit: Splash
Horner celebrated with drivers Perez and Verstappen after the race following their podium finishesCredit: Getty
Hamilton had qualified on pole, but received a ten-place grid penalty as punishment for his fourth engine change of the season, when drivers are only permitted three.
The seven-time world champion was battling it out with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for third and made it clear that he wanted to complete the race on the same set of tyres.
Horner, 47, told Sky Sports: “At one point you think he [Hamilton] is going to get to the end and from what we could see, those tyres were looking dangerous so it was inevitable he was going to have to pit.
“At the point that they pitted, that was to our maximum advantage because at that point you could see Charles [Leclerc] as well, the tyres overheated and blistered quite badly and then the pace was lost.
“For us, the crucial moment was for when to pit Checo.
“We could have left him out to keep holding Lewis, [but] we decided to pit him to make sure we had track position because we didn’t believe that those tyres would make it to the end of the race.”

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Red Bull’s strategy proved to be spot on and his two drivers ultimately finished second and third, with Verstappen clinching vital points to put him in the lead in the drivers’ championship by six points.
Hamilton had done incredibly well to manoeuvre his way into fourth but his pace began to slow with ten laps left, and he was reluctantly persuaded by the Mercedes team to pit in lap 51.
The Brit came back out on to the track in fifth, behind Leclerc and Perez, and struggled to get anywhere near them in the final seven laps.
His frustration was evident as he fumed over the team radio: “Why did you give up that place? We shouldn’t have come in. I told you.”
When asked by Sky Sports whether he thought his tyres could have lasted the whole race, Hamilton said: “[Esteban] Ocon’s did, I heard, so I assume they probably could.
“The tyres are bald so you don’t know how far they will go, so there’s definitely a little worry of the life of the tyres.
“But also, I wasn’t really that fast at the end there. I was struggling, had low grip, not really sure why, but then all of a sudden I’d have not such bad pace. But I was losing performance to the guys behind.
“I think probably in hindsight I should have stayed out or come in much earlier because when you come in with eight laps to go you don’t have time to go through the graining phase of that medium (intermediate) tyre on a drying track, so then I went through this whole sliding phase where I nearly lost more positions.”
Despite his initial anger, Hamilton was more diplomatic in his post-race comments
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also suggested that Hamilton should have pitted earlier and that Hamilton’s insistence not to may have cost him a podium finish.
Wolff told Sky Sports: “The intermediate obviously looked really scary, but we thought that we could maybe hang out there and finish third with not stopping.
“Or if a dry line appears maybe going on to a soft tyre until the end.
“So we balanced between pitting, taking it very conservative, fighting with Leclerc and Perez on the track for P3, or taking a little bit of a gamble and either winning or finishing third.
“Then we saw Leclerc dropping off and Lewis started dropping off and it was clear that we wouldn’t make it to the end.
“It was clear that if we stayed out he would have lost against (Pierre) Gasly in any case. I think that he in the car still felt good, but he was one-and-a-half seconds off the pace and would have anyway lost the position.
“And on the other side it is always frustrating that you see the other cars, you haven’t actually passed them, they are out on track in front of you.
“The correct call would have probably been taking it very conservative and pitting when everybody pitted for the intermediate, coming out behind Perez, probably behind Leclerc and then fighting with them on-track for P3.

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“DNFing and losing all the points, that’s obviously catastrophic. We would have been caught up by Leclerc and Perez anyway if we had tried to stay out, so that wouldn’t have worked.”
The result means that Hamilton cannot afford to slip up again in the remaining six races, with his next opportunity to win points back coming in Austin, Texas at the US Grand Prix in two weeks.
Mercedes remain first in the Constructor Standings, however, thanks to a superb race from Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who won his first Grand Prix of the season in Istanbul.
Bottas’ win in the Turkish Grand Prix was his tenth race victory in F1Credit: Splash
Bottas celebrates on the podium after winning Turkish Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen More

LEWIS HAMILTON has defended his outburst over the radio to his Mercedes team during the Turkish GP – saying it was “passionate” and “in the heat of the moment”.The seven time world champ lost his grip at the top of the championship after a late precautionary pitstop in Istanbul dropped him from third to finish in fifth place.
Hamilton is now six points behind championship rival Max Verstappen in the F1 leaderboardCredit: Reuters
Hamilton took to Instagram to explain his explicit language over the radio
Max Verstappen regained top spot in the title race with his second-place finish while Hamilton was adamant he should have stayed out and not pitted in the vain hope of finishing in third.
There were a series of angry messages played out over the airways, as the 36-year-old claimed his decision was the right one.
But after the dust settled and a debrief on the flight home with Merc boss Toto Wolff, Hamilton took to social media to play-down the flashpoint and says he is not angry at his team.
He wrote on Instagram: “I’ve seen some of the press this morning which has made a bit too much of the incident in yesterday’s race of when to pit.
“It isn’t true to say I’m furious with my team.
“As a team we work hard to build the best strategy possible but as the race progresses you have to make split decisions there are so many factors constantly changing.

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“Yesterday we took the risk to stay out hoping it would dry, it didn’t.
“I wanted to risk it and try and go to the end, but it was my call to stay out and it didn’t work.
“In the end we did pit and it was the safest thing to do.
“We live and we learn. We win and we lose as a team. Don’t ever expect me to be all polite and calm on the radio when I’m racing, we are all very passionate and in the heat of the moment that passion can come out, as it does for all drivers.
“My heart and spirit are out there on the track, it’s the fire in me that’s got me this far but any angst is quickly forgotten and we talked it through, already looking ahead to the next race.
“Today’s another day to rise and as a team (sic). Still we Rise.”
The last time Hamilton raced at the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul was when he clinched his seventh World Championship title back in November 2020Credit: PA
Bottas celebrates on the podium after winning Turkish Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen More

LEWIS HAMILTON blasted his Mercedes team after they blew his chance of a podium in Turkey and fears it could wreck his championship.Hamilton could not hide his frustration as Max Verstappen retook the lead in the title race and opened up a six-point lead over the Brit.
Lewis Hamilton with Stefano Domenicali, CEO of the Formula One Group, ahead of the race
Max Verstappen claimed second spot to take a six-point Championship lead over Hamilton
Verstappen was second behind Valtteri Bottas, who won his first race in over a YEAR, while Hamilton had to settle for fifth after being called in for a late pitstop.
Unhappy Hamilton said the strategy call cost him third place and that he should have ignored the team’s call to pit for new tyres.
He said: “I feel like I should have stayed out. My gut feeling was to stay and I feel that’s what I should have done.
“I am frustrated with myself. I lost a few points, but that’s life.”
Hamilton was quizzed if Merc’s decision-making could impact on his chances of winning a record eighth world title.
He added: “Time will tell. If I would have stayed out, you don’t know if I would have held the position, but I am a risk-taker so I would have taken that risk.

Valterri Bottas secured his first win in over a year
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“We started 11th, we have a new engine and we scored points, so it was not a big loss.
“When you look at the last race, [when Verstappen took an engine penalty in Russia, he lost seven points.
“I lost eight [in Turley], so I have to work hard not to drop any more points.”
The flashpoint happened over the final laps of their otherwise dreary race when Mercedes called Hamilton in for new intermediate tyres.
The world champion had benefited so handsomely in Sochi when Mercedes pulled a blinder to call him in for wet tyres while race-leader Lando Norris gambled on slicks.
On that occasion, the heavens opened, Norris spun off and Hamilton was able to snap up a win that had looked unlikely.
However, in Istanbul on a damp track, he quizzed their decision to call him in for new intermediate tyres on lap 43.
Hamilton was told to pit to which he replied “Why?”. His race engineer said: “New inters are the way to go.”
But Hamilton replied: “I don’t think it is, man” before later adding “It feels like we should stay out”.
Based on his feedback, Merc kept him out and as Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez pitted, Hamilton looked on for a third-place finish – should he make it to the end of the race on the same set of tyres he started with.
But as the damp track dried, it took its toll on his intermediate tyre, which was quickly worn down close to the canvas.
Fearing a tyre failure, Merc eventually called him in on lap 51 with eight laps remaining for a new set of intermediates.
Hamilton obliged but hit the roof once he learned that in doing his stop, he lost two places – back to Perez and Leclerc and with it a total of five championship points.
He fumed over the radio: “F*** man! Why did we give up that space? We should not have come in man. I told you!”
Hamilton was frustrated. Despite starting in 11th owing to an engine penalty, he was confident of a podium finish to limit Verstappen from storming ahead in the title race with six Grand Prix’s remaining.
He later added: “I think probably in hindsight I should have either stayed out or come in much earlier.
“It felt good to be in third and I thought if I could just hold on to this, it’s a great result from 11th. Fifth is worse, but it could be worse.”
Asked if he believed the tyres could have lasted the distance, somewhat tellingly Hamilton replied “[Esteban] Ocon’s did”.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff defended the team’s decision to call Hamilton in for new tyres through fear of them exploding before the end of the race.
However, he admits that the team’s initial plan – to call him in earlier – was probably the right call.
He said: “The intermediate looked really scary but we thought we could maybe hang out and finish third without stopping or if a dry line appeared we could stop and take a soft tyre.
“We balanced between pitting or taking a gamble. The correct call would have been taking it conservative and pitting when everybody pitted for intermediates and fighting on track for P3.
“We have never had any problems and we have plenty of time to debate it, but it is clear, when you are in the car you have a limited amount of information.”
Pirelli chief Mario Isola said that Hamilton’s call to stay out would have been the wrong one.
The tyre boss said: “Looking at the tyres after the race I would say no or it would have very much been on the limit….really really at the limit. A very risky move.” More