Mercedes reveal critical Lewis Hamilton error which destroyed Dutch GP strategy
Mercedes technical director James Allison revealed that a one-stop was their plan for Lewis Hamilton at the Dutch Grand Prix, but a lock-up forced them down an unplanned route.
Hamilton went into the Dutch GP with major momentum having won two of the last three races, claiming victory at Silverstone and Spa, but the Dutch GP at Zandvoort brought about a nasty surprise on qualifying day as Hamilton suffered a shock Q2 elimination. To make matters worse, he also picked up a three-place grid drop for impeding Sergio Perez.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton Dutch GP lock-up triggers Mercedes ‘recovery strategy’
Starting the race on the soft tyre, Hamilton was able to make strong early progress into the top 10 before pitting for the hard tyre on Lap 24. Hamilton was in again on Lap 49 for another set of softs, though Allison has revealed that this second stop was not part of the plan.
Instead, Hamilton was due to go to the end on those hard tyres, but a lock-up would damage them and necessitated that extra pit stop, a strategy which was not competitive compared to what they originally had planned.
Hamilton pitted and returned to the race P8, the position where he would finish, one spot behind team-mate George Russell.
Asked as part of Mercedes’ Dutch GP debrief whether a soft/medium/soft strategy would have been better for Hamilton than hards for that middle stint, Allison replied: “Possibly, although the hard looked like an okay tyre, probably the best tyre that race.
Catch-up on the latest Mercedes talking points
“And the real question is, would a one-stop have been better than a two-stop? And if you’re going to do a one-stop, then starting where Lewis started, soft was an okay choice for the first stint because we managed to make a few places there. And then it’s hard to the finish.
“That was the strategic choice. And hard was definitely the right tyre to pick to go from there to the end of the race. However, we had to abandon that strategy to go to soft/hard/soft because Lewis had a lock-up which then damaged the tyre, which then took away the pace of the car.
“And then we’re on a recovery strategy at that point, having to make it into a two-stop. And soft was our best option for completing the race.
“But soft/hard/soft, soft/medium/soft, neither is competitive compared with soft/hard, which was our intended strategy. And the second stop was only really a function of trying to recover from that lock-up, because the pace he had on the hard tyre prior to the lock-up was very competitive.
“Once he got himself free of all those back markers, the car was running quite well and he would have been doing good.”
Hamilton and Mercedes will look to bounce back this weekend at Monza, a venue where Hamilton holds the joint-record for most wins alongside Michael Schumacher with five.
News
Rory McIlroy delivers verdict on Tiger Woods’ “Unacceptable” meeting with Saudi LIV Golf supporters in New York
Rory McIlroy has spoken out on Tiger Woods‘ and PGA Tour officials reported meeting with LIV Golf’s Saudi Arabian backers in New York a day before the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The world’s two biggest golf companies have been in…
‘The Arrogant People of the High Class’: Megyn Kelly Takes Aim at Swift’s Relationship with NFL Star Travis Kelce With ‘Heavy’ Words
Megyn Kelly says “F You, Taylor Swift”, unleashes fury on pop star over Kamala Harris endorsement Taylor Swift revealed her endorsement after the Presidential debate on Tuesday night Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly ripped into Taylor Swift for supporting Kamala Harris…
Actress Alice Evans was kicked out of court during a child support hearing.
Alice Evans KICKED OUT of court for taking photos of ex Ioan Gruffudd during child support hearing Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd clashed in court as the bitter exes came face-to-face at a child support hearing in LA to discuss…
Eminem and Jelly Roll anger fans with VMAs performance
Eminem enrages fans with VMAs performance as special guest doesn’t actually show up During the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, Eminem took to the stage to perform his duet with Jelly Roll – but not all fans were impressed with…
Taylor Swift Ties Beyoncé as All-Time Top VMAs Winner
Eminem, Megan Thee Stallion & Katy Perry each won two awards. Taylor Swift accepts the Best Collaboration award for “Fortnight” on stage at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards held at UBS Arena on Sept. 11, 2024 in in Elmont,…
Newey’s Hamilton dream ‘BROKEN’ in ‘what if?’ moment
Some things are just never meant to happen, and the rock star designer of Formula 1 Adrian Newey heading to Ferrari in a Lewis Hamilton dream team looks like it is going to be the one that got away. Newey has instead signed…
End of content
No more pages to load