Lewis Hamilton Confesses ‘Zoning out’ Before Letting Charles Leclerc Pass on Azerbaijan GP finish line

Lewis Hamilton asserted that he was 'zoned out' in the final stages of the Azerbaijan GP and hence did not let Charles Leclerc through.

Lewis Hamilton Confesses ‘Zoning out’ Before Letting Charles Leclerc Pass on Azerbaijan GP finish line

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)

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Ferrari had yet another nightmare of an outing at the Azerbaijan GP. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc could only finish in P8 and P9, especially after enduring a torrid time on the track. To make matters worse, both Hamilton and Leclerc suffered from a late race driver swap drama, and the latter lost a position to the Briton and did not get it back by the end of the race. Now, the seven-time champion has opened up on the matter and provided clarity.

Lewis Hamilton was eliminated from the Q2 session and couldn’t even fight for a pole position. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc‘s Q3 session ended early after he binned his car into the wall in the beginning stages of the session. As such, after starting the race from much behind the leading pack, both drivers were already going to have a hard time moving up the pecking order.

During the race, Lewis Hamilton believed that he was faster and swapped with Charles Leclerc in order to fight for a better finish. However, Hamilton couldn’t move up the pecking order and finished in P8, where the Monegasque was supposed to finish. Ferrari called for a position swap in the end stages of the final lap, but it was too late for the Briton to make the move and give back the position.

As such, Lewis Hamilton recalled that he was quicker, but still Charles Leclerc was gracious enough to let him by. Hamilton continued that in the end stages of the race, he got the call to swap very late. The Briton insisted that he was zoned out in the car in front of him and was unable to swap positions again. Still, the 40-year-old recalled that he did lift the gas on the main straight to let Leclerc by, but it couldn’t happen in the final moments of the race.

I was quicker, but Charles was gracious to let me by. At the end, I got the message really late on it, and I was zoned in the car in front of me, even though there was like 0.001 chance of passing, I was still hopeful and I did lift on the straight and did actually break but we missed it by like four tenths so that was just a much tougher for myself so I was going to ask Charles at the end of the day.

Lewis Hamilton said, as reported by motorsport.com

Charles Leclerc claims Lewis Hamilton can ‘enjoy’ P8 finish

Both drivers would have finished in P8 and P9, despite the position swap or other strategic calls. Neither of them had a realistic shot at moving up the grid and achieving a better finish than this. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton did not care for such mediocre finishes and weren’t much affected by the situation. Still, Leclerc put forth his two cents on the matter and gave a neutral statement.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Getty)
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Getty)

Charles Leclerc declared that he did not really care about the entire matter enough, as an P8 finish was nothing to boast about. Further, Leclerc sarcastically commented that Lewis Hamilton could enjoy his P8 finish and not talk about it anymore. However, the Monegasque did insist that the situation was stupid and unfair towards him, but he reiterated that he did not mind it enough.

I don’t really care, it’s for an eight place, so it’s okay, he can enjoy that P8, It’s just stupid because it’s not fair, but again, I don’t mind, honestly.

Charles Leclerc noted, as reported by motorsport.com

Ferrari has officially lost their runner-up position in the constructors’ standings to Ferrari. Moreover, they have a looming threat from Red Bull to lose the third position as well. As such, Maranello must figure out quick fixes to their errors and ensure that they do not lose out any more than required. Now, time will tell about how the remaining seven races turn out for the Scuderia.

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