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via Reuters

via Reuters

Lewis Hamilton is not a happy man at the Dutch GP. For the first time this season, the champion had a fighting chance to return to the podium’s top step. Despite having a car with the pace for victory, at a race with all to play for, Hamilton was robbed of glory by his own team.

In a hullabaloo of yellow flags, strategy played a crucial part in the Dutch GP, something the Mercedes pit wall messed up big time for Hamilton. On the 56th lap, Lewis Hamilton’s race was doomed to go from good to great to bad and worse. Bottas parked his Alfa Romeo on the main straight, bringing out the yellow flags for the second time at Zandvoort.

via Reuters

With a full safety car period, Red Bull played the smarter game. Verstappen pitted for the red walls- but Mercedes didn’t respond. Later, Russell grabbed a cheap soft-tire swap while his teammate stayed out on the medium boots. Hamilton began doubting his race. The airwaves went red as Hamilton questioned his team: “Why did you stop George?” 

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Bono had no reply. Now angry, the race leader fumed at the ludicrous decision, “we had a buffer between us. Now we don’t have that!” Hoping his teammate would help him onto the top step of the podium, the champion was disappointed. Hamilton then defeatedly admitted that keeping Verstappen behind him was a far shot.

However, it was not until the profanities came out that the seriousness of the situation sunk in. The man known for his sunny and positive radio messages soon took a dark turn. “That was the biggest f*ck up”

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As the safety car came in, Verstappen’s faster tires were warmed up and ready to go. As the racing began, the Red Bull was effortlessly past the Mercedes in the blink of an eye. Hamilton, now second, shouted at his pit wall: “I can’t believe you guys f*cked me, man, I’m so f*cking angry now”

A race to forget for Lewis Hamilton

Before things got ugly for Lewis Hamilton, things favored the Brit. On lap 48 of the race, Yuki Tsunoda’s malfunctioning AlphaTauri brought out the VSC. Red Bull took advantage of the cheap stop, pitting Max Verstappen from the lead of the race. Hamilton and Russell followed for a double stack- shifting to the medium tires. And it’s safe to say, Hamilton was hyped on the radio, letting out a quick “Let’s go guys!” 

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However, the excitement was short-lived. As the race went green, reality dawned on Hamilton who was 12 and a half seconds behind Verstappen- “the VSC stuffed us.” With strategy being thrown out of the window, Verstappen on the softs, began pulling further into the lead.

Moments later, George Russell overtook his teammate into Turn 1, rubbing salt on the once leader’s wounds. Still, hope was alive, as Hamilton was still in the podium position. However, soon that too was taken from him as Charles Leclerc squeezed his way onto the rostrum.

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Watch This Story: Lewis Hamilton Plots a Devious Scheme for 2022 F1 Season

Things won’t be all bright and breezy during the debriefs, that’s for sure. What looked like a great weekend of the Mercedes cars only left their star driver battered and bruised by the end of it. However, will this be a turning point for the Silver Arrows for the remainder of the season, or is Red Bull just the inevitable force of the grid? With 7 races to go, victory is still in sight.