“Messed Up” – Brundle Points the Finger at Lewis Hamilton for Strategic Disaster at Turkish GP

Despite securing pole position at the Turkish GP, Lewis Hamilton started the race at P11, thanks to an engine penalty. The Briton quickly made up places and moved into the top 5 within the first 20 laps of the race.

But as the race progressed, the Briton made it to the top 3, just behind his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, and arch-rival, Max Verstappen. And with every other driver around him was pitting for a new set of intermediates, Mercedes, too, asked the Briton to pit.

However, Hamilton was in favor of going long and wanted to complete the race on the same tires. But with the Mercedes driver losing pace, he was forced to pit with just eight laps remaining for a new set of tires, and he eventually finished P5.

Meanwhile, the former driver turned commentator, Martin Brundle believes Lewis Hamilton, is at fault for defying team orders to not pitting immediately at the Turkish Grand Prix.

Watch Story: Verstappen the Big Winner as Hamilton Loses Out at Turkish F1 Grand Prix

I think Lewis has messed up the team’s plans: Martin Brundle

As quoted by Formula Passion, Martin Brundle told Sky Sports, “I think there was a mistake on Lewis’ part in the race.

“I think Mercedes should have limited itself to copying Red Bull. In this way, they went to limit the damage for the start from 11th place.

Formula One F1 – Turkish Grand Prix – Intercity Istanbul Park, Istanbul, Turkey – October 10, 2021. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton after finishing the race in fifth place REUTERS/Umit Bektas.

“So I think Lewis has messed up the team’s plans a little bit. They stopped in no-man’s-land at the end when it was too late to make good use of the new intermediates,” concluded Brundle. (Translated via Google Translate)

I should have stayed out: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton, who was running strong in P3 at the closing stages of the race, stated he shouldn’t have pitted for a new set of intermediate tires. In addition, the Briton believes he should have stayed out just like Esteban Ocon, who completed the race at P10 without a single pit stop.

While the Frenchman himself claims it was a risky bet to stay out on single tires, Hamilton believes he should have followed his own intuition.

“I’ve just got out of the car and I don’t have all the information, but I feel like I should have stayed out. My gut feeling was to stay out and I feel that’s what I should have done,” said Lewis Hamilton.

Formula One F1 – Turkish Grand Prix – Intercity Istanbul Park, Istanbul, Turkey – October 10, 2021. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in action with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez during the race REUTERS/Murad Sezer.

“So I’m frustrated in myself for not following my gut. But I work as a team, so I did the best I could with the advice I was getting,” added the Knight.

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Can Lewis Hamilton turn his fortune around at the United States Grand Prix? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.

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