Photo: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Lewis Hamilton made a pretty surprising admission yesterday when he revealed that he was late to switch to the right engine mode just before the safety car restart took place during the Dutch Grand Prix.
Hamilton was leading the pack at the time and was hoping to at least put up a fight against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The latter was brought into the pits for a change of tires (took the softs), while Hamilton was left out on used mediums, which is how the British driver ended up in the lead.
What happened next has already been well documented. Verstappen breezed past Hamilton on the pit straight like a greyhound strutting past a beagle. Sure, we all knew that Red Bull had a straight-line speed advantage over Mercedes, but the way Verstappen just flew past was a tiny bit surprising.
However, Hamilton wanted to set the record straight and confessed to having initially accelerated in the wrong engine mode during the Safety Car restart, reports Motorsport. This, of course, cost him precious momentum and Verstappen took full advantage.
“I was late to get to race mode, but I was on race mode on the straight,” said the British driver. “They were just so fast on the straight.”
What’s interesting is that Hamilton’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, reminded him several times about being in the right engine mode.
“So, when the lights go out it will be Strat mode five,” said Bonnington. “You can use an early overtake push, push and hold available at your discretion.”
Then, as Hamilton began accelerating through the banking of the final corner during the restart, Bonnington reminded him again about Strat Five. The Mercedes driver was reportedly without the 160 horsepower MGU-K boost for roughly one second, before finally engaging the right engine mode.
In Formula 1, a second is a long, long time and Verstappen was quick to pounce.
What happened next has already been well documented. Verstappen breezed past Hamilton on the pit straight like a greyhound strutting past a beagle. Sure, we all knew that Red Bull had a straight-line speed advantage over Mercedes, but the way Verstappen just flew past was a tiny bit surprising.
However, Hamilton wanted to set the record straight and confessed to having initially accelerated in the wrong engine mode during the Safety Car restart, reports Motorsport. This, of course, cost him precious momentum and Verstappen took full advantage.
“I was late to get to race mode, but I was on race mode on the straight,” said the British driver. “They were just so fast on the straight.”
What’s interesting is that Hamilton’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, reminded him several times about being in the right engine mode.
“So, when the lights go out it will be Strat mode five,” said Bonnington. “You can use an early overtake push, push and hold available at your discretion.”
Then, as Hamilton began accelerating through the banking of the final corner during the restart, Bonnington reminded him again about Strat Five. The Mercedes driver was reportedly without the 160 horsepower MGU-K boost for roughly one second, before finally engaging the right engine mode.
In Formula 1, a second is a long, long time and Verstappen was quick to pounce.
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