Lewis Hamilton expressed his appreciation for Kevin Magnussen's candidness in admitting that his highly defensive maneuvers during the Miami Grand Prix sprint race were “stupid tactics” motivated by a desire to support his team.
Magnussen and Hamilton’s battle for eighth in the 19-lap short-form race was marked by several tense moments, with sanctions handed to the Haas charger for cutting the chicane, wheel contact, and running his rival off the track.
While Magnussen’s tactics – which he admitted after the race were “stupid” – ultimately hindered Hamilton's progress, the seven-time world champion did not express any personal animosity towards the Dane.
He acknowledged the strategic intent behind Magnussen's driving and even commended his honesty in acknowledging the situation and owning up to his on-track behaviour.
“I mean, it's really honest of him. I think it's pretty cool,” Hamilton told Sky. “We had a good race. It was a little bit on the edge in some places, but that is what I love. I love racing hard.
“So for me, it wasn't really frustrating or anything. That is obviously what you do to work as a team. So bravo.”
Hamilton crossed the checkered flag P8 but a post-race time penalty for speeding in the pitlane ultimately dropped the seven-time world champion down to 16th.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff suggested that the Brackley squad needed to revisit its car’s set-up ahead of qualifying in a bid to improve its pace, and especially the W15’s top speed.
“I think that penalty for the pitlane speeding, these things can happen, these errors,” he said.
“And in that respect, I think the pace of the car was not too bad today. To the limited amount we were able to see there, set-up-wise it's clear we need to change direction for quali.”
On the other side of the Silver Arrows team’s garage, George Russell clocked in an unremarkable P12. The Briton had launched his race from 11th – just ahead of Hamilton – but lost several spots in the commotion at the first corner.
“I think that race was just incredibly boring for everybody,” he said. “It was just a DRS train. In F1, you can't overtake if you don't have DRS and, when all the cars have got DRS, you just can't overtake.
“I made a good start, I was pretty stuck on the outside and obviously there was that big crash on the inside.
“I lost five or six positions to the cars behind. I'm sure it will be a different story tomorrow when things spread out, but it was a pretty boring race.”
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