When asked if yesterday’s stunning drive from pit lane to podium was one of his best ever performances Lewis Hamilton merely shrugged it off with the answer: “I don’t think so.”
Some might disagree with him after what was an amazing recovery from yet another qualifying disaster, but his reply was not that surprising considering what had happened in the race.
If he had won, and at one stage that was a real possibility, then his answer may well have been “yes”, particularly as he had written off his chances after his car caught fire during qualifying on Saturday, wrecking his chances of seizing the initiative with pole position.
Nobody has ever won a Formula One race after starting from the pit lane, so to take third and more importantly finish ahead of his team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg, who finished fourth after starting on pole, was certainly a performance to be proud of.
It was yet another example of the British driver’s supreme talent, mature judgement, and determination in the face of seemingly impossible odds. This is why I found it astonishing and, in my opinion, totally wrong for Mercedes to ask him to move over on lap 51 and let his team-mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg through into third place because he was on a different strategy and faster tyres.
At that time the German was not in a position to overtake and Hamilton was attempting to get past Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and win the race.
Anybody watching the race could see that to let Rosberg through, Hamilton would have had to lift off at a time when he simply could not afford to lose a fraction of a second.
He clearly, and quite rightly, decided to ignored team orders, despite the whingeing of his team-mate on the car to pit radio as to why he was not being allowed through.
Hamilton did respond to the team’s request to move over by saying he would let Rosberg through if he was close enough but refused to slow down. With a world title at stake, why should he?
Rosberg never got anywhere near close enough to justify a wave through so the British driver continued to push, and although he did not win the race, third place was vitally important, reducing the gap to Rosberg to just 11 points with eight races left.
But while Hamilton can claim a triumph of sorts, you have to wonder what the effect of being told to move over in those circumstances will have on the star’s relationship with the team, who last night said they would hold an internal inquiry into the incident.
Surely, he is going to question where the team’s loyalties lie. Do both drivers have equal status or not?
Yesterday’s grand prix was a sensational race with all the drama and excitement that makes this sport so alluring. Mercedes are fortunate to have two of the best drivers on the grid and so far they have allowed them to go head-to-head in the battle for the title which, unlike team orders, makes the sport exciting.
If would be a shame if that situation changes and priority is given to either one of these drivers. Team orders or not, yesterday Lewis Hamilton got it absolutely right.
