“Lewis It’s James…”: Mercedes’ Vowles Triggers Infamous Bottas Nostalgia With Hamilton at Miami GP

Lewis Hamilton might have finally stepped into the shoes of Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes. Miami Grand Prix was an upgrade compared to Lewis’s last outing. The world champion could’ve also finished a place higher, but for the infamous radio exchange. The start of which probably gives Bottas nightmares to this day. Okay, that might be an exaggeration.

But more often than not, when James Vowles has interrupted the radio conversation, it has never ended well for the Finn. And history repeated itself as Lewis heard the words during his radio exchange. Probably for the first time, Lewis was on the wrong end of advice from James Vowles. Just like Valtteri often was during his time at Mercedes. But like a lot of other times, it did not end well, however, this time for Lewis.

During the safety car period at the Miami Grand Prix around lap 50, Lewis sought advice on his tire situation. And while conversing with Bono, his trackside race engineer, Lewis heard the infamous words: “Lewis, it’s James.” Followed by, “we advise staying out, but we’ll leave it to your decision, we have to make it now.”

Read More: Mercedes F1 Boss Breaks Down Nuances of Lewis Hamilton – George Russell Battle at Miami GP

The advice led to Hamilton being overtaken by his teammate Russell and giving up the potential P5. Lewis now has a slight idea about what Bottas went through all these years.

Lewis Hamilton questions the Mercedes strategy post-Miami race

Hamilton is not happy with Mercedes’s pit stop strategy during the safety car period. “In that scenario I have no clue where everyone is so when the team say it’s your choice, I don’t have the information to make the decision, that’s what your job is, make the decision for me. You have all the details. I don’t!” said Lewis.

They advised Russell to pit and Lewis to stay out, which led to him being overtaken. An extremely poor call from the Silver arrows as the race result shows. And an especially frustrating scenario for Lewis, as he could’ve pitted as well and retained or improved his position.

Let’s hope Mercedes clears the communication gap in time with the porpoising to get the best results from both the drivers.

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