Following his reportedly critical comments regarding Valtteri Bottas’ driving on the first lap of the Mexican Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has backed his teammate.
Lewis Hamilton has sent Valtteri Bottas a message of encouragement after questioning his teammate’s lack of defense against Max Verstappen on the first lap of the Mexican Grand Prix.
On the lengthy run down to Turn 1, Verstappen moved from third to first, filling a gap left by Bottas and swooping around the outside of the Silver Arrows.
In the post-race press conference, Hamilton appeared to be critical of Bottas, saying that the Finn “left the door open” for Verstappen, who went on to win easily and increase his championship lead.
“I had envisaged it differently, naturally, in the sense that Valtteri maybe would get a better start, and I would have tried to get into his tow,” Hamilton told media on Sunday afternoon.
“But obviously I was alongside him, which was good. And then I was just covering my side of the track, trying to make sure no one could come up the inside, so I was trying to keep whichever Red Bull I could see in my mirror behind.
“I thought Valtteri would be doing the same, but obviously he left the door open for Max. And Max was on the racing line, so he did a mega job braking into Turn 1, and because I’m on the inside in the dirt, there was no hope for me.”
“We win and we lose as a team”
Hamilton, on the other hand, posted a message on social media addressed at Bottas shortly after clarifying a separate comment regarding Sergio Perez.
“We all have bad days. We live and we learn,” Hamilton posted on Instagram.
“Yesterday I said that [Bottas] left the door open and naturally people will jump to criticise.
“We are a team and we win and we lose as a team. There is not one single person responsible for winning or losing, we do it together good or bad.
“You may be able to beat us but you can’t break us! Onto the next one Valtteri, let’s keep pushing bro.”
With four races remaining, Hamilton now lags Verstappen by 19 points in the standings.
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