F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Hamilton keen to be part of problem-solving process at Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton says he wants to be involved in Mercedes’ problem-solving process after experiencing another troubled race weekend in Russia.

The triple world champion was hit by a ERS issue similar to the one he suffered at the previous round in Shanghai, which prevented him from taking part in the final phase of qualifying and forced him to line up 10th on the Sochi grid.

Although he managed to recover to second, Hamilton’s charge was hampered when his W07 picked up a water leak in the second half of the race.

The Briton was quick to dismiss the sabotage claims made by his fans on social media, but he also made a couple of bizarre comments regarding what had happened (or actually not happened) following the Chinese Grand Prix.

“There are things which we’re trying to understand and I’ve asked to be informed of what’s going on, process or whatever.” Hamilton said. “For example, after the last race [in China], I didn’t get an email of the report so I didn’t actually know about that and when I got [in Russia] they said ‘we should have emailed you’.

“Next week I'll get all the information, and if it's not sent to me, I'll make sure I'll get it. Just because I want to be a part of the process, and there's a lot of input I can have, and help. Ultimately we're a team. We win and we lose together, so it's about us pulling together.”

Not sure Hamilton’s puzzling remarks will help appease conspiracy theorists, whom Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff called “lunatics” who are “lying in their bed with their laptop on their chest and sending out those abusive messages out” in the aftermath of the Sochi race.

FEATURE: Hamilton, or when a picture is not worth so many words

DRIVER RATINGS: Russian Grand Prix

Breakfast with ... Martin Brundle

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook a

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Antonelli reveals what racing Verstappen taught him at Sepang

F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli walked away from last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia…

2 hours ago

Mansell's finally breaks his duck after 72-race run

It was a long time coming - 72 races to be exact - but on…

3 hours ago

Alonso reportedly set for sensational Dakar return in 2027

Fernando Alonso isn’t one to settle for a quiet off-season. Just when paddock observers thought…

3 hours ago

Valtteri Bottas opts for extreme cycle commute to Singapore!

Most F1 drivers handle double-header travel days by slipping into air-conditioned transfer vans, boarding a…

5 hours ago

Horner reacts to Red Bull-Ford monumental first at Sepang

Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s triumph in last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix was a vindication…

6 hours ago

Bearman blasts Haas: ‘Soft tyre strategy screwed my race’

Oliver Bearman left Bahrain convinced Haas had thrown away a genuine chance of points after…

21 hours ago