1964 Formula 1 world champion John Surtees says he was disappointed by the way Lewis Hamilton reacted to finishing behind his team-mate Nico Rosberg at last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton was far from happy following Saturday's qualifying session, with Rosberg securing pole position after he made a mistake at Mirabeau and brought out the yellow flags.
He was behind the German driver on the circuit and had to back off on his final attempt. Despite the stewards deciding that it was not a deliberate move, following a thorough investigation, the Brit clearly disagreed.
Relations were strained in the Mercedes garage for the rest of the weekend, with Hamilton questioning Rosberg's actions several times - even telling reporters on Sunday "I wish you could have seen the data" - and failing to congratulate his team-mate on his second Monaco win.
"I have no doubt about Lewis Hamilton’s driving ability, but I didn’t like what I saw and heard from Monaco," Surtees wrote in his latest column for Motor Sport Magazine.
"I can understand the frustration that Lewis must have felt in not having that opportunity on the last lap of qualifying to get pole. But I think his reaction to his teammate and team was wrong."
Sharing his thoughts on Rosberg's qualifying error, he added: "Considering the speed that Nico Rosberg had been able to exit Casino, and the way the road down to Mirabeau moves the car around, and the fact that having decided to abort the corner he went to the end of the slip road, I would have given him the benefit of the doubt."
Derek Warwick - who made 147 F1 starts driving for the likes of Toleman, Renault and Lotus - was the FIA driver steward that oversaw the investigation into Rosberg's turn five mistake at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Following Hamilton's far from gracious defeat at the Circuit de Monaco, Warwick has urged him to "man up", move on and switch focus to the next round in Canada.
"I understand that Lewis was upset," he told the Daily Mail. "Possibly he would have gone faster than Nico on that lap. Arguably the incident cost him the grand prix.
"I don’t want to give him advice really. He has won umpteen races and a world championship, but if I were to say anything, it would be to man up and concentrate on the next race in Canada."
Commenting on the Rosberg investigation, he said: "I have been around a long time and seen people try to pull the wool over my eyes. Did I have doubts in my mind? Of course I did. But [Rosberg] gave me the answers I needed.
"I know there are conspiracy theories but you will not find a more honest driver in grand prix racing than Nico. He said himself that he made a mistake, came in too fast, braked too late and locked up his rear tyres.
"You could argue that as president of the BRDC I would have a reason to come to a decision that would have favoured the British driver, but obviously that is not how I would approach it. I am there to be independent.
"It is a big decision to make when you are deciding to move a driver to the back of the grid. It was doubly important to get it right because it could affect many things - probably the outcome of the race and possibly of the world championship.
"We had all Mercedes's data, including Lewis's data to overlay on Nico's. We had the FIA data. We had onboard shots, overhead shots, circuit shots. We had throttle traces, braking traces, everything we needed to make, hopefully, the right decision. It was not black and white. It took a long time. We wanted to be sure and thorough."
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| © Octane Photographic |
He was behind the German driver on the circuit and had to back off on his final attempt. Despite the stewards deciding that it was not a deliberate move, following a thorough investigation, the Brit clearly disagreed.
Relations were strained in the Mercedes garage for the rest of the weekend, with Hamilton questioning Rosberg's actions several times - even telling reporters on Sunday "I wish you could have seen the data" - and failing to congratulate his team-mate on his second Monaco win.
"I have no doubt about Lewis Hamilton’s driving ability, but I didn’t like what I saw and heard from Monaco," Surtees wrote in his latest column for Motor Sport Magazine.
"I can understand the frustration that Lewis must have felt in not having that opportunity on the last lap of qualifying to get pole. But I think his reaction to his teammate and team was wrong."
Sharing his thoughts on Rosberg's qualifying error, he added: "Considering the speed that Nico Rosberg had been able to exit Casino, and the way the road down to Mirabeau moves the car around, and the fact that having decided to abort the corner he went to the end of the slip road, I would have given him the benefit of the doubt."
Derek Warwick - who made 147 F1 starts driving for the likes of Toleman, Renault and Lotus - was the FIA driver steward that oversaw the investigation into Rosberg's turn five mistake at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Following Hamilton's far from gracious defeat at the Circuit de Monaco, Warwick has urged him to "man up", move on and switch focus to the next round in Canada.
"I understand that Lewis was upset," he told the Daily Mail. "Possibly he would have gone faster than Nico on that lap. Arguably the incident cost him the grand prix.
"I don’t want to give him advice really. He has won umpteen races and a world championship, but if I were to say anything, it would be to man up and concentrate on the next race in Canada."
Commenting on the Rosberg investigation, he said: "I have been around a long time and seen people try to pull the wool over my eyes. Did I have doubts in my mind? Of course I did. But [Rosberg] gave me the answers I needed.
"I know there are conspiracy theories but you will not find a more honest driver in grand prix racing than Nico. He said himself that he made a mistake, came in too fast, braked too late and locked up his rear tyres.
"You could argue that as president of the BRDC I would have a reason to come to a decision that would have favoured the British driver, but obviously that is not how I would approach it. I am there to be independent.
"It is a big decision to make when you are deciding to move a driver to the back of the grid. It was doubly important to get it right because it could affect many things - probably the outcome of the race and possibly of the world championship.
"We had all Mercedes's data, including Lewis's data to overlay on Nico's. We had the FIA data. We had onboard shots, overhead shots, circuit shots. We had throttle traces, braking traces, everything we needed to make, hopefully, the right decision. It was not black and white. It took a long time. We wanted to be sure and thorough."
2 comments:
For me, this is a perfect example of Lewis Hamilton's fundamental weakness. He allows his rivals to gain a psychological advantage, as he is unable to push past grievances aside. Just two weeks ago, we were talking about whether Lewis had won the mental battle against Nico. For now, it seems to be vice versa.
I agree. Lewis tried the 'hungrier than thou' approach and it back fired badly, didn't it?
Then he tries the 'the world is against me tactic' and it still doesn't work.
This boy needs a slice of humble pie and if he just forgets about being occasionally beaten, then he'll go on to win a second WDC.
If he lets Rosberg do his head in, then Nico will be a deserving WDC.
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