Lewis Hamilton: I was too friendly with Bottas at the start

Lewis Hamilton had interestingly suggested at the conclusion of the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix that ‘it was all lost during the qualifying.’ Not a track where it’s easy to overtake unless one’s in it with the DRS zone on the main straight, it’s commendable how Lewis Hamilton, second, at Baku, fought Bottas for the battle for first.

At the completion of the 51-lap contest, Lewis held on to a fighting second, being bereft of only a little over a second to winner, Valtteri Bottas, the Finn winning his first-ever GP at Azerbaijan.

But in giving a solid Mercedes 1-2, their fourth of the season, ever since the start at Australia’s Albert Park, Lewis Hamilton shared a candid point with the media:

“I didn’t get the job done in qualifying, he did, and in the race, I was too friendly at Turn 1 and basically gave it to him,” Hamilton said. “He drove a fantastic race and made no mistakes so he deserves the win this weekend.

Actually, if you saw the contest, round four of the 2019 F1 season, it was apparent that the 2018 World champion was going for ‘it.’ Having lost the qualifying battle to the Finnish racing driver a day before, Lewis Hamilton, it could be said, had to give it everything. But in what became a brilliant exhibition of defensive driving, Bottas, the race-winner, made the most of being on the cleaner side of the track to keep the fighting Briton at bay.

At the end of the day, the duo did deliver a strong result for the Toto Wolff-outfit. And in so doing, prevented the Ferrari from dominating at Baku, something that may not have happened anyway.

But maintaining graceful normality about the contest, Lewis Hamilton, happy with his second but only just did go on to add:

“This is not our strongest race of the season, this has always been a difficult race for me. So this is a really good result for considering and a fantastic result for the team. Valtteri did a fantastic job all weekend and he truly deserved the win. I would say I was a bit under par for this weekend so I just need to work hard.”