Hamilton admits his mistake during qualifying at Silverstone
The qualifications for the British Grand Prix of Formula 1 were marked by Nico Rosberg's pole position and also by Lewis Hamilton's poor decision to abort his final flying lap, while everything was still possible.
After the qualifying session of the British Grand Prix in F1, Lewis Hamilton admitted he made a mistake by not completing his final flying lap, thinking it would be impossible to improve. In reality, five drivers went ahead of him, including his teammate and championship leader, Nico Rosberg.
« It was my mistake,” Hamilton asserted to Sky Sports. He was absolutely adamant about absolving the Mercedes team of any blame: « Nothing the team said influenced my decision to pit. I’ve had great support here from the fans and I apologize to them. » The Briton will therefore start in 6th position on the grid; in Austria, he had already made a mistake that sent him to 10th on the grid, while Rosberg started 3rd.
For his part, Nico Rosberg does not hide his satisfaction: “I am happy with the way things went today and with how things are going in general. The momentum is on my side and I need to take advantage of this moment,” he admits.
However, he remains wary even though he knows he has an excellent position: « Looking at the championship, it’s good for me that Lewis is 6th. It will take him a little time to come back, I think, but I expect him to return pretty quickly and most likely, we will be fighting again. »
Martin Brundle, consultant for the British channel and former McLaren driver among others, believes that while anything is possible, the German has all the assets to make a big impact: « Lewis misread [the qualification] and let Rosberg take the advantage. Yes, he can have a brilliant start like in Austria, and very clearly he is in the fastest car on the track so nothing is lost, but he is putting himself in a difficult position again. And then, it all depends on the first pit stop during the race and Rosberg holds all the cards. »
On the eve of the British Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg has a 29-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the championship. If the driver with number 6 wins, he will widen the gap by an additional 7 to 25 points over his teammate rival.
