Lewis Hamilton had a “difficult race” in Baku last Sunday as the Mercedes driver started from the pit lane due to a penalty following the replacement of several engine components on his car before the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton knew he would have a long afternoon on the streets of Baku as he set off from the pit lane, but the Briton managed to make up ground early in the race and again after his pit stop, eventually crossing the line in the points in ninth place behind the Williams of Franco Colapinto and ahead of the Haas of Oliver Bearman.
“Today was a tough race.” said the seven-time world champion on Sunday evening after the finish of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“We had a good day on Friday, but the rest of the weekend was tough. We made a few changes before Saturday that didn't work out, and we had to deal with that.”
“We also knew it would be difficult to overtake here. Despite the long straight, it is difficult to follow in the second sector.” added the Briton.
“Despite the difficulty of my own race, the positive point is that George [Russell] had a decent race and was able to score some good points for the team.”
“We also have a lot of data to analyze before Singapore. We have some improvements coming before the end of the year, so hopefully we can get closer to those in front soon.”
The Mercedes driver also paid tribute to the performance of the two young rookies, Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman, who took part in their second F1 race on a difficult track and finished in the top ten, with the Briton spending much of the race battling against the two rookies.
“Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman, with whom I raced for most of the afternoon, did a great job.” Lewis Hamilton added when asked what he thought of their performance.
“It's great to see young guys like them come out and do so well. For their second race, it was very impressive.”
After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton sits sixth in the drivers' championship, 18 points behind Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
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