Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton: “I’m going to have to battle my way through the traffic”

1 Mins read
Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd.

Lewis Hamilton will give it his best on Sunday for the Belgian Grand Prix as he starts from the back of the grid due to grid penalties.

The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver has had an interesting weekend after changing his engine three times, with these changes leading to a penalty tally that adds up to a 55 place grid drop. Hamilton looked strong in Free Practice 3 after he finished in fifth, but with his penalties he only completed one run in qualifying.

He qualified within the 107% rule which allowed him to end this session in twenty-first, ahead of the McLaren-Honda of Fernando Alonso. After setting a lap time, Hamilton did not continue in qualifying as there was little point with all his penalties. The Briton knows Sunday is going to be far from easy, he is planning to just give it his best and see where he finishes.

“Firstly, the team have done an incredible job,” said Hamilton. “The guys and girls back at Brixworth building the engines and then everyone here who’ve been kitting and fitting them – so a huge thank you to them.

“To bring a new engine here, take it out after FP1, put another new one in for FP2, then do the same again before FP3 was just an unbelievable job. I have a massive 55 place grid penalty today – but I also now have three new engines in the pool for the season, which is positive. In terms of today, it was definitely a weird qualifying session for me.

“There was no point in showing my pace. It was all about race preparation. The key for me is making sure I come out of tomorrow having lost the fewest points possible – and that meant having as many fresh sets of tyres available as possible and making sure the car was set up well.

“It’s going to be far from an easy, breezy day but where I can just pick people off. There will be lots of pit stops and who knows what else. I’m going to have to battle my way through the traffic – but I’ll give it my best as always and see where I end up.”

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