Honda F1 Boss Offers Controversial Assessment of Lewis Hamilton’s Luck

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton served up an epic title race in the 2021 season. The Red Bull driver came out on top against the 7-time world champion on the last lap of the season to win the title. Keeping aside all the controversy around the final stages of the season, Honda F1 boss Masashi Yamamoto believes that the Mercedes driver was very lucky throughout the season.

Hamilton had just one DNF during the season to Verstappen’s three. But Lewis was certainly the luckier driver between the two, as his mistakes did not have massive repercussions in his title bid. Yamamoto pointed out the race in Imola and Silverstone as prime examples of the British driver’s luck this season.

WATCH STORY: Lewis Hamilton’s Biggest F1 Crashes

Lewis Hamilton has been lucky a few times this season: Honda F1 Boss

As reported by Planetf1, the Honda F1 boss mentioned that despite going off in the race in Imola, Lewis regained time during the red flag.

“Lewis made a mistake, went off the track and lost a lot of time. However, the red flag allowed his car to be repaired, and he was able to make up the lost lap time. Lewis has been lucky a few times this season, and this was one of them.” said Yamamoto.

Yamamoto stated that the Silverstone incident was the reason that Max and Lewis were so close in the championship. He indicated that the crash between the two drivers changed Honda’s strategy for the season.

“Although Hamilton was pushing from the start, Max was able to hold on until Turn 9, when he was faster. They collided, however, and Max ended up on the side of the track and crashed. The car was broken, we lost one engine and had to change the whole strategy for the season.” said Masashi.

Yamamoto believes Hamilton made more mistakes than Verstappen in the season and was the luckier driver. The Silverstone incident changed the shape of the season as Max was 33 points ahead of Lewis going into the race. Admittedly, it is unclear whether Max could have secured the title earlier if they both had finished the race.

What are your views on the same?

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