Lewis Hamilton forced to admit defeat in apology to F1 team after disastrous start to Hungarian Grand Prix

9 months ago 74

LEWIS HAMILTON was forced to admit defeat in the Hungary Grand Prix after getting off to a disastrous start at the Hungaroring.

It was a frustrating day for Hamilton at the Hungaroring[/caption]

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.”

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.”

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.