Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s wait for a Grand Prix podium with his new team continues.
Lewis Hamilton went into the Belgian Grand Prix knowing that Ferrari had prepared one of their most important update packages of the season since the previous race at Silverstone.
However, while Hamilton’s uncharacteristic spin in Sprint qualifying wasn’t blamed on the Ferrari’s new rear suspension, he never looked as comfortable as Charles Leclerc across the race weekend.
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Leclerc performed brilliantly to outqualify Max Verstappen and start Sunday’s race in third, and Hamilton looked like he had his work cut out after having his final lap of Q1 deleted and being eliminated at the expense of Gabriel Bortoleto.
Hamilton was one of four drivers to start from the pit lane, and the delayed start behind the safety car ultimately benefited him as he didn’t lose as much time as expected.
However, Hamilton used all of his experience when making his only pit stop of the race to leapfrog six cars.
It earned him six unlikely points and a well-deserved Driver of the Day award.
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Lewis Hamilton delivered strategy ‘masterclass’ according to Ferrari fans at the Belgian Grand Prix
Ferrari posted on social media a third of the way through the race to notify their fans that both Hamilton and Leclerc had changed onto the medium compound tyres.
Fans were upset that the wet tyres were nowhere to be seen at the start of the race, when instead the stewards decided to delay the start of the race owing to visibility issues.
The team updated fans that Leclerc had retained third, albeit narrowly avoiding a penalty for an unsafe release in front of Alex Albon, and Hamilton was up to seventh.
In response to that message, plenty of fans responded, praising Hamilton for pitting one lap earlier than many of his rivals.
One fan said: “Great strategy call for Lewis!!” while another commented: “Beautiful strategy.”
“Hamilton really is the GOAT,” claimed another fan, with one using a nickname he has earned over the years by winning seven drivers’ championships, stating: “Goatmilton is him, we just need more rain.”
“Credit to masterclass strategist,” said another comment, while one fan pointed to Ferrari’s previous struggles in that department and stated: “Finally, a good strategy for Hamilton.”
Finally, another supporter simply said: “Lewis is absolutely flying! Up 11 places, ridiculous,” summing up the feeling towards the 40-year-old from the Tifosi.
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Team principal Fred Vasseur was asked in his post-race interview, via Motorsport, whether the higher downforce choice Ferrari made on Hamilton’s car after starting from the pit lane is something he’ll do more often.
He said: “No, I don’t think so. I think he was very aggressive on a wet track, and it was the right choice.
“But then he got stuck behind Albon, and I think we could have even made the Spa 24 Hours, but we would have been left behind Alexander.
RANKDRIVERTEAMPOINTS1Oscar PiastriMcLaren252Lando NorrisMcLaren183Charles LelcercFerrari154Max VerstappenRed Bull125George RussellMercedes106Alex AlbonWilliams87Lewis HamiltonFerrari68Liam LawsonRacing Bulls49Gabriel BortoletoSauber210Pierre GaslyAlpine1
“Unfortunately, that’s how it went. I’m convinced that in a normal race, if Lewis had run with a low-downforce setup, he could have gone faster.
“But starting from the pit lane was an aggressive choice to be able to make up ground in the first stint.”
Hamilton ultimately couldn’t find his way past Albon, although the amount of lifting and coasting he was being asked to do by the team didn’t help matters.
He will hope that he can optimise the updates he’s been given even further when he arrives at Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend.