Lewis Hamilton gives blunt response on wanting a different strategy after George Russell emerged victorious at Belgian GP

George Russell's mid-race strategy change led to Lewis Hamilton losing the Belgian GP.

Lewis Hamilton gives blunt response on wanting a different strategy after George Russell emerged victorious at Belgian GP

Lewis Hamilton [L] George Russell [R] (images via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton attempted his best to overtake George Russell towards the end of the Belgian GP. Russell decided to continue with an unconventional one-stop strategy which helped him score the race win. On the other hand, Hamilton was on the expected strategy and lost out on the victory. Hence, the 39-year-old had a blunt response to questions of him sticking to a different strategy.

The Belgian GP witnessed great improvement in performance from Mercedes. However, the team was not expecting George Russell to score the race win from the one-stop strategy. Hence, Lewis Hamilton was questioned if he would’ve done anything differently in hindsight according to the one-stop strategy.

Was there anything you would've done differently in hindsight with the strategy? George obviously going for the one-stop - was that an option for you?
An interviever questioned Lewis Hamilton after the Belgian GP
YouTube video

However, despite Hamilton congratulating Russell after the victory, the Briton decided to give a blunt response. The former pointed out that he would’ve made his own strategy to fight for the race win. Hence, it is safe to assume that the seven-time world champion wasn’t the happiest after losing the race to his teammate.

FS Video
Would've made my own strategy.
Lewis Hamilton responded during the post-race interview
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Lewis Hamilton claimed Mercedes didn’t inform him of getting ‘one-stopped’ by George Russell

Lewis Hamilton’s disappointment was visible from his lack of excitement for Mercedes’ one-two finish in Belgium. The Briton decided to stick with the team’s decision, unlike George Russell, which ultimately led to his loss. As a result, the 39-year-old was not mincing words when speaking about his discontent with the outcome.

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton (Via IMAGO)

Hamilton reckoned that he ‘put faith’ in the strategists while deciding the strategy. However, the team did not inform him regarding the one-stop strategy from Russell, which caused him to lose out on the race. As a consequence, the seven-time world champion was extremely displeased with the situation he was put in by Mercedes.

You have to put the faith in the people you work with. I put my faith in my strategists, I should be able to lean on them…. Did I know I was at risk of getting one stoped by my teammate? They didn’t tell me that.
Lewis Hamilton said in a post-race interview

Despite the discontent from either of the parties over the results, Mercedes has maximized on points over the weekend. Additionally, the team will continue to work on their chassis over the summer break to improve performance further. Hence, Brackley could continue to move up the constructors’ standings down the season.

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