Lewis Hamilton finished ninth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having started from the pit lane after being penalised for exceeding his power unit allowance this season.
A disgruntled Lewis Hamilton stayed silent after boss Toto Wolff admitted that Mercedes had a ‘horror race’ at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Hamilton, 39, was never in with a shout of winning but did manage to score points in Baku with a P9 finish, a commendable effort given that he started from the pit lane. That was a decision made after qualifying on Saturday, as Mercedes opted to take a penalty for Hamilton exceeding his power unit allowance in 2024.
On a track where overtaking is renowned for being difficult, the seven-time Formula 1 champion did well to gain ground but ultimately would’ve finished outside of the top 10 had Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz not crashed on the penultimate lap. After crossing the finish line, Wolff said over Mercedes’ team radio: “Lewis, good to make it to the end.
That was a horror race. I can so relate to it, we can all relate to it. At least we’ve taken the penalty now. Let’s move forward, look forward.”
Hamilton remained quiet as his engineer, Peter Bonnington, directed him back to the garage.
With only seven races left before his departure to Ferrari, Hamilton is eager to end his successful 11-year stint with Mercedes on a strong note. “Mercedes did not come back from the summer break with a strong performance.
Despite George Russell finishing third due to a crash, the team did not have a good race in Baku. Hamilton expressed his disappointment about the power unit penalty, believing it set the tone for a disastrous race.” Team boss Wolff mentioned that they were aware the race in Baku would be challenging due to the limited opportunities for overtaking.
He explained that when drivers get too close to each other, the tires tend to overheat, causing them to lose positions. Russell expressed confusion during his evaluation after the race, stating to Sky Sports that the race had been unusual.
He noted that during the first 20 laps, they were 1.5 seconds slower than the pace, but in the last 20 laps, they were one second faster than the winner Oscar Piastri or Charles Leclerc, and 0.3 or 0.4 seconds quicker than Carlos and Checo Perez.
These tires… it’s the identical vehicle, identical driver, identical circuit. I am unsure how there can be such big differences. Achieving P5 was acceptable. It is possible that P6 would have been more appropriate if Lando [Norris] had started in his usual position.”
Russell continued by expressing his frustration, stating that initially the car felt like a P20. Every driver this week has been dealing with the same issue, which has been consistent for 14 years with no one fully understanding the tires.
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