© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Lewis Hamilton‘s Austrian Grand Prix didn’t go as planned. First the Briton received a grid penalty before the race and then got handed a five second penalty in the race itself.
Hamilton received a five second penalty in the last stage of the race, after having contact with Alex Albon’s Red Bull. The penalty demoted the Briton from P2 to P4.
“I don’t have a certain feeling at the moment,“ said Hamilton to Sky F1 after the race.
“The race is over and I’m just looking ahead now. Of course it hasn’t been a good weekend for me.
“What happened yesterday was totally my fault, it was certainly a bit weird. But well, it is what it is and that grid punishment only motivated me to give everything. I think I did, I had enough speed to close the gap with Valtteri.
“Then came the very unfortunate moment with Alex. I can’t believe we were making another contact with each other, but it really felt like a race incident.
“I accept any punishment I get and will focus on next week,” concluded the Briton.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff also believes the five second penalty was ‘too harsh’.
“The stewards are always in a difficult position to make the right decisions,” Wolff told Sky F1.
“I’d certainly say from our perspective, the five seconds were too harsh.
“We watched the video a few times. Lewis steered completely into the curve. Albon had about 40% of the road left to make the turn. It was different from lap one where Lewis had to pull back to not get off the track.
“So in my opinion, it’s not justified. But I recognize the complexity of the work, of making the right decisions.
“Some go for you, some go against you,” concluded Wolff.
