Lewis Hamilton Q&A: I drove my heart out

From his poor qualifying position, to a questionable strategy call by McLaren, to Mark Webber’s overly-optimistic passing attempt, Australia hasn’t been Lewis Hamilton’s weekend. Here Hamilton reviews his race and looks ahead to next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix…

Q: Lewis, can you sum up your last lap?
Lewis Hamilton: It was one of the more unsatisfying races of my life, and unfortunately due to the strategy, I was put further back when finally I got taken out by Mark Webber. I was driving my heart out today and I deserve better than what I ended up with, but for sure I will keep fighting at the next race.

Q: Do you think that you deserved better from the team at the last stop?
LH: Well, I know that the guys always do a fantastic job. It’s just the strategy was not right. Everyone in front of me did one stop and for some reason I did two.

Q: Did you choose to come in? Who told you to do so?
LH: I don’t know, we’ll find out.

Q: You had such a great start…
LH: Yes, I had a great race in general - a really, really great race. The car was good even though I lost a bit of downforce with a bit of damage to the car. But otherwise it was a solid race. Obviously this was not my weekend.

Q: You were right behind Renault’s Robert Kubica, so why did you have to stop?
LH: My tyres were great. We’ve clearly lost a one-two today and a podium for me, as I had the pace to overtake Kubica. But we have to look forward.

Q: You say that the strategy ruined your race, can you be a bit more precise?
LH: Well, I was in P3 and everyone else didn’t stop - but I stopped. I had already stopped once, and my tyres were fine and they would have lasted. Maybe I would have struggled a bit towards the end - but that is what all the other guys did. I was brought in for another stop, even though I would have preferred to stay out, but I didn’t question the decision because I trusted that was the right one. After pitting again I had a 20-second gap to catch up and then I was taken out by Mark. All that wasn’t cool.

Q: What happened with you and Webber?
LH: I would say that Mark’s move was not really looking forward. He didn’t think clearly and took us out. That was it.

Q: How motivated are you for the Malaysia race? Especially given your team mate Jenson Button’s excellent win…
LH: I think this win was great for the team - and congratulations to Jenson - he did a good job. Fingers crossed that the race in Malaysia will be better.

Source: Formula1.com