Lewis Hamilton said he would have reacted the same way as Sebastian Vettel in the incident that cost the Ferrari driver victory at the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix.
Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free
Vettel ran wide while under pressure from Hamilton, then rejoined the track directly ahead of the Mercedes driver, forcing Hamilton to lift. The stewards handed Vettel a five-second penalty, which promoted Hamilton to the race win.
“I watched the replay, it was obviously very close,” Hamilton said. “If I was leading and I made a mistake and went wide, I probably would have done the same thing because it happens so quickly and you’re just trying to hold your position.
“When I say I would do the same, I mean I would try to squeeze him too. That’s ultimately what happened.”
Vettel criticised the rule that led to his penalty, but Hamilton supports the regulation. “If that rule didn’t exist, I would have stayed on the throttle and we could easily have crashed. Either way, it was going to end badly,” he said.
Hamilton described Vettel’s attempt to prevent an overtake as instinctive. “As a driver, when things go wrong you think ‘oh shoot’ and you try to squeeze so you don’t lose a position. It’s a natural instinct — you’re not going to say ‘I better pull to the left and let everyone go by.’ He did block me, but he then went off-track, and the rules are clear on that.”
“Seb drove a great race,” Hamilton added. “Apart from that little off, he did an excellent job. Ferrari were very strong this weekend — a formidable force. We were fortunate to be in the battle with them because they genuinely could have had a one-two today if circumstances had been different. Luckily I was able to stop that.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free
2019 F1 season
- Crying in the Melbourne car park at 2019 grand prix was my career low – Ocon
- McLaren Racing reports reduced £71 million loss in 2019
- Kvyat: Hockenheim podium last year was “my biggest achievement” so far
- How the FIA’s new encrypted fuel flow meter targets Ferrari’s suspected ‘aliasing’ trick
- “He smashed my office door”: 23 must-see moments from ‘Drive to Survive’ season two
Browse all 2019 F1 season articles