That’s your job! Frustrated Lewis Hamilton queries Mercedes team strategy
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That’s your job! Frustrated Lewis Hamilton queries Mercedes team strategy

A frustrated Lewis Hamilton questioned his Mercedes team’s strategy on Sunday after he finished sixth behind team-mate George Russell at the Miami Grand Prix.

After the fifth race of the year, Hamilton is sixth in the drivers’ standings on 36 points, with fellow Briton fourth on 59.

The seven-time world champion said he was surprised to be asked if he wanted to pit for fresh tyres during a Safety Car period after 41 laps of the inaugural 67-lap race at the Miami International Autodrome, won by Max Verstappen.

“I really don’t know, in that scenario I have no clue where everyone is,” he explained when asked about the incident.

“When the team say ‘it’s your choice’ – I don’t have the information to make the decision.

“That’s what your job is! Make the decision for me. You’ve got all the details right there in front of you. I don’t. 

“That’s what you rely on the guys for, but today they gave it to me and I didn’t understand it.”

The team decided not to pit Hamilton.

“It’s just a bit unfortunate on the Safety Car, but at least we got points today,” he said.

“We’re finishing and reliability is good. We just have to keep trying. I’m excited to, at one stage, take a step forward, which we haven’t yet.”

He had finished a forlorn 13th two weeks previously at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Team-mate Russell made the most of the Safety Car to pit for fresh tyres and, with that advantage, was able to pass Hamilton to finish fifth.

“It’s good when you battle with our team-mate,” Hamilton said.

“You show more respect, give more space and I enjoyed it. I think there’s good respect between us and I was pushing as hard as I could.”

He added that despite their improved result, the team were still struggling to unlock the performance potential of their car.

“We have a fast car in there, but we don’t have the key to unlock it. There’s more to come and it’s frustrating.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leads the title race with 104 ahead of world champion Verstappen of Red Bull on 85.

A frustrated Lewis Hamilton questioned his Mercedes team’s strategy after he finished behind team-mate George Russell at the Miami Grand Prix. Photo: Twitter @MercedesAMGF1

Results from the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, the fifth round of the 2022 Formula One world championship:

1. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1hr 34 min 24.258sec, 2. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) at 3.786sec, 3. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari) at 8.229, 4. Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) at 10.638, 5. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes-AMG) at 18.582, 6. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes-AMG) at 21.368, 7. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) at 25.073, 8. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault) at 28.386, 9. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine-Renault) at 32.128, 10. Alexander Albon (THA/Williams) at 32.365, 11. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) at 35.902, 12. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) at 37.026, 13. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) at 40.146, 14. Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams) at 49.936, 15. Mick Schumacher (GER/Haas) at 1:13.305, 16. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas) at 1 lap, 17. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin-Mercedes) at 3 laps

Did not finish:

Guanyu Zhou (CHN/Alfa Romeo), Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes), Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri-Red Bull), Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin-Mercedes), Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas)

Overall standings

Drivers

1. Charles Leclerc (MON) 104 pts, 2. Max Verstappen (NED) 85, 3. Sergio Perez (MEX) 66, 4. George Russell (GBR) 59, 5. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) 53, 6. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 36, 7. Lando Norris (GBR) 35, 8. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 30, 9. Estéban Ocon (FRA) 24, 10. Kevin Magnussen (DEN) 15, 11. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 11, 12. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) 10, 13. Pierre Gasly (FRA) 6, 14. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 4, 15. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 4, 16. Alexander Albon (THA) 2, 17. Guanyu Zhou (CHN) 1, 18. Lance Stroll (CAN) 1

Constructors

1. Ferrari 157 pts, 2. Red Bull 151, 3. Mercedes-AMG 95, 4. McLaren-Mercedes 46, 5. Alfa Romeo 31, 6. Alpine-Renault 28, 7. AlphaTauri-Red Bull 16, 8. Haas 15, 9. Aston Martin-Mercedes 5, 10. Williams 2

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