Lewis Hamilton admits he would have avoided the late safety‑car pit stop
Lewis Hamilton said he would not have pitted a second time under the late safety‑car at the British Grand Prix had he known George Russell would overtake him.
Safety‑car chaos turns the race into a scramble
The neutralisation came after Max Verstappen crashed on the Stowe corner, forcing the Red Bull to be recovered from the gravel before the field could restart. Both Ferrari cars pitted for fresh tyres; Leclerc left the pits with a comfortable lap’s cushion while Hamilton stayed stuck behind the stalled Russell.
Behind‑the‑car finish after the Stowe clean‑up
Although marshals had cleared the Stowe wreck by the 52nd lap, the race ended under the safety‑car as backmarkers were permitted to unlap themselves on lap 51. Regulations required the field to complete a full lap after that order, which left no formal restart and added confusion to the finish.
Team’s directive, Hamilton’s position‑assumption regret
When asked if he regretted pitting, Hamilton replied, “The team asked me to stop. I assumed we would be holding position. If they had told me I would lose position, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Jump‑start penalty marred the opening of the race
Right after the lights went out, Hamilton crashed the start because his hand slipped, earning a five‑second penalty that pushed him down the order immediately. The incident followed him throughout the race, exacerbating an already frustrating performance.
Car balance challenges against Leclerc’s superiority
Hamilton noted that Leclerc had tweaked the balance during the weekend, adding more wing than in qualifying. He said the car was over‑steering with the differential settings in place, forcing him to adjust the wing prematurely. This adjustment left Hamilton experiencing severe understeer in the early stint, after which the gap widened beyond recovery before a later diff tweak could’t close it.
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