Lewis Hamilton endured an eventful Austrian Grand Prix marked by on-track incidents, a penalty and a damaged car that left the seven-time world champion fourth at the checkered flag.
From fifth on the grid, Hamilton enjoyed a strong start, gaining the measure of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at the first corner.
However, having accomplished the pass on the outside of the corner, Hamilton was asked by his team to hand the position.
The Briton ran consistently in fifth until his first pitstop, but a messy entry into the pitlane yielded a five-second penalty for crossing the white line.
Hamilton was an obvious beneficiary of the clash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in the closing stages of the race. But while the Briton moved up to P4 he was unable to challenge Sainz for third.
However, it later came to light that Hamilton had picked up significant floor damage on his car early in the race that hampered his pace by two and a half tenths according to team boss Toto Wolff.
“Yeah, it was one of his bad days,” commented the Austrian after the race, quoted by Motorsport Week.
“A pretty decent start and then Turn 1, Lap 1, giving the position back was a harsh thing. But it was pretty clear that we wouldn’t be getting a 10-second penalty by not doing it.
©Mercedes
“Then it started to spiral. He pushed very hard on the entry, you can see how much he pushed, lost the rear and then obviously the next penalty came about.
“On top of that, we had floor damage because of the kerb ride, which I guess most people have but his was extensive.
“It was two and a half tenths in parts that broke off on the kerb. So no reason to be angry or upset about it.”
Hamilton also acknowledged the damage, suspecting that it had been a consequence of his off-track excursion at the start at Turn 1.
“I’m not really quite sure,” he said. “I think I got, in Turn 1 a bit of damage and then the floor is just falling apart. I don’t know when I got the damage from that.
“I haven’t yet seen the video, so I don’t have much more to say.”
Hamilton was visibly disappointed by how his race had unfolded but rejoiced at his team’s first win since Russell’s victory in Brazil in 2022.
“I mean, from my side it’s not that different. But George as you can see he’s doing pretty well. So, that’s a huge boost for us.
“A big victory for George and the team. This is an amazing result.”
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