'Emotional' Hamilton admits to 'disbelief' over Baku win

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Lewis Hamilton was back in winning form on Sunday in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but he admitted to mixed emotions over the victory.

"I'm coming out of the last corner and I'm just in disbelief at the position I'm in," Hamilton said afterwards. "It was very, very emotional for me.

"In previous years here I'd been in the lead, done everything I'd needed to do, and then something went against me.

"This morning I think it was I said 'third time lucky' and it really was that scenario today," he added. "This happens to be a track where you need luck, because there are a lot of safety cars, a lot of incidents that go on."

He was also quick to praise the Mercedes team behind his victory today, his first since last year in Austin.

"The guys did an exceptional job with the pit stops and the strategy, so big thank you to them."

Hamilton started from second place on the grid, but was unable to find a way around Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel during the first stint.

After pitting he dropped even further back, with his team mate Valtteri Bottas taking the lead. Bottas was further helped by pitting under a late safety car which seemed to guarantee him victory.

Hamilton wins from Raikkonen as Red Bull wipes out in Baku

However a puncture for the Finn saw him retire from the race, while Vettel locked up and ran off at the final restart. Hamilton emerged from the chaos in the lead, even though he was the first to admit that it hadn't been a vintage race for the four-time world champion.

"Valtteri did such an exceptional job today," he said. "After that safety car he deserved to win the race. He'd done everything he needed to.

"I was thinking to myself, I'm going to try and get in but this is a great 1-2 for the team. But then things shifted and we came out ahead.

"It's very, very mixed emotions. One, grateful for the opportunity to win a Grand Prix. And secondly, on the other side, feeling that I didn't drive the way I normally feel like a drive.

"I didn't give up, I kept pushing but definitely a very untidy race from me," he conceded. "That hurts a little bit within my heart because it's not like I'm focussed anywhere else.

"Also Sebastian did a great job," he added. "The Ferraris were out and out faster than us all weekend.

"We struggled this weekend. Got some work to do. But I can still go home on a high note and take this hopefully into the next race."

Most of all, Hamilton said he had been reminded of the truth of the old adage: never give up.

"I never give up," he insisted. "It's been a while since I've been reminded of that lesson my told taught me years and years.

"I kept going, I kept pushing and kept pushing. Then things turned out the way they did, and that was coming to a realisation of just how true still that mindset needs to be and is."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.