The Briton had been in chirpy mood earlier in the week and took pole in qualifying, but crucially lost the lead when Vettel pitted under the virtual safety car [VSC] on Sunday.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff blamed a glitch in the team’s software, citing a miscalculation by the systems used to calculate the gaps between their drivers and those from other teams.
Reigning world champion Hamilton said: “I really still don’t now understand what’s happened. I did everything I believe that I was supposed to do.
“The safety car came out and then I was coming down the straight and, all of a sudden, really last minute, I was told the Ferrari was coming out. I didn’t know the Ferrari was in.
“I think [I felt] just disbelief really from that moment until the end, just disbelief. I was hungry to try to recover from whatever the scenario, whether it was a mistake or not. I was risking it, but I could have lost all the points.
“Eventually I think I made the sensible choice [to settle for second]. It’s a long, long way in the championship and it’s not all won in one race. That’s what I’m trying to focus on.”
0 votes
