Lewis Hamilton addressed the incident he had with Carlos Sainz during the Spanish GP. The race was filled with exciting action on the track, but Sainz was not satisfied after Hamilton made contact with him. Hamilton shared his thoughts on the incident after the race.
Sainz accused Hamilton of forcing him off the track during the race and expressed his frustration with the FIA for not penalizing the British driver. However, Hamilton stated that he and Sainz raced fairly despite the contact they had at one point. The seven-time world champion insisted that he had given enough space to the Ferrari driver when entering the first turn.
Hamilton admitted that he and Sainz were pushing each other to the limit during the race. He even mentioned that there was very little distance between their cars at certain moments, comparing it to the thickness of a paper. Hamilton firmly believed it was just a racing incident, although Sainz disagreed with his viewpoint.
After the race, Hamilton shared his race strategy. He revealed that he had planned to use the soft tires for two stints, as the hard compound was not even considered an option for him. He wanted to ensure maximum performance throughout the Grand Prix.
Starting with the soft tires, Hamilton switched to the mediums during his first pit stop. Later in the race, he made another stop to switch to a fresh set of soft tires. On the other hand, Sainz opted for a hard compound tire during his second stint. Fortunately, Mercedes’ strategy paid off for Hamilton as he secured his first podium of the 2024 season.
Although Hamilton is delighted to be back on the Formula 1 podium, he acknowledges that Mercedes still has work to do to catch up with Red Bull and McLaren in the upcoming races. Fans will be eager to see how Hamilton performs in Austria next weekend.
