Start, Silverstone, 2018

Ferrari used “interesting tactics” says Hamilton after Raikkonen clash

2018 British Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari employed ‘interesting tactics’ in the British Grand Prix following his first-lap clash with Kimi Raikkonen.

The reigning world champion was passed off the line by Sebastian Vettel and then hit by Raikkonen at turn three. Raikkonen received a 10-second time penalty for the collision.

Despite the contact, which dropped him to the back of the field, Hamilton recovered to take second place by the chequered flag.

“My team did an amazing job this weekend and we’ve got so much support and so much pressure obviously for us all,” said Hamilton on the podium after the race/

“Interesting tactics, I would say, from their [Ferrari] side. But we’ll do all we can to fight them and improve in the next races.”

The collision came just two weeks after Hamilton and Raikkonen’s team mates clashed in similar circumstances in the French Grand Prix. Vettel knocked Valtteri Bottas into a spin on the first lap of the race.

Vettel’s British Grand Prix victory means he has extended his championship lead over Hamilton to eight points.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2018 F1 season

Browse all 2018 F1 season articles

Author information

Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

200 comments on “Ferrari used “interesting tactics” says Hamilton after Raikkonen clash”

  1. I can understand he is disappointed but this low…

    1. James Allison says, “is it intentional or incompetence?” Neither warrants letting off such an action with anything other than a 10s penalty.

      In my opinion it’s more that Raikkonen found himself taking less care since the guy he’s fighting is his teammate’s main contender for the championship.

      Seems everyone here is all too high and mighty to see why anyone would question the intentions of such a move. Try being morally superior straight after you’ve had ANY race with an incident. Do any of you even race at all to understand emotions that go with it?

      1. What don’t YOU understand about Kimi pushing and locking up? How are YOU so daft as to think Lewis’s conspiracy-theory comments and walking off parc ferme immediately after the race are okay?? You’re in the pinnacle of Motorsport. Start acting like a professional, don’t leave your fans out in the cold, and stop acting like the biggest baby in the paddock. It’s shameful

      2. Well said @reganama

        It is very clear virtually no one on here has seen a championship or even a annual number ruined by some clever brush the rear on a super fast bend!

        Way to go Kimi – karting move…

        He knew what he had done… but you know another year contract in the offing?

        Amazed anyone sees different after two such stunts in two races.

        Been there – lost that!

      3. In my opinion it’s more that Raikkonen found himself taking less care since the guy he’s fighting is his teammate’s main contender for the championship. Seems everyone here is all too high and mighty to see why anyone would question the intentions of such a move.

        @reganama +1

      4. @reganama
        Interesting that Allison talks about incompetence. His opinion is very well welcomed btw since he’s an expert in that department.

      5. RP (@slotopen)
        9th July 2018, 3:24

        (@reganama)

        A thief won’t trust anyone else. (Don’t get too upset, I think Hamilton is the same as the others)

        The incident i find most interesting is Hamilton clipping Verstappen in China(?). I watched the replay carefully. I think Hamilton drove a very careful line. He was unwilling to have a hard race ending collision. So he moved over.

        But he couldn’t let Verstappen just get away with it. He was probability aiming to get so close Verstappen got the message “don’t make a habit of this”. But he accepted a very real chance of wing damage.

        He got lucky and got the best possible outcome – giving Verstappen a flat without taking damage or a penalty.

        Viewing the incident with that perspective makes Silverstone today and Mexico last year less black and white.

    2. A disgusting behavior indeed.

    3. Agreed…. Lewis, Toto and Merc, cry baby when they are not wining all the time

      1. Philip Brown
        8th July 2018, 23:53

        Yup, my thoughts exactly, and I am a Merc fan!

    4. “Interesting tactics, I would say, from their [Ferrari] side. But we’ll do all we can to fight them and improve in the next races.”

      I guess you can take thus statement anyway you like or read any meaning into it as suits the mind.
      Fact is, taken in it’s own, there is nothing in this statement to suggest anyone deliberately crashed into him. IMO, he passed a comment on Ferraris tactics which could mean how they start, how they communicate, or even their pitting choices.
      I don’t see anywhere where he says Kimi crashed into or hit him. Like he said clearly about vettel in Baku and Mexico last year.
      That’s by the way. But even if that is what he meant, can anyone deny his team had suffered from this compared with the other team. But for the safety car, the person who ruined his race would have finished ahead. Just like happened to Bottasbin France. Any system that allows such a situation repeatedly is faulty. The fact that there is no proper consequence management for such incidents engenders conspiracies.
      FIA should get it’s systems in order.

  2. Or you could have a made a good start Lewis..
    Always someone else to blame…

    1. You mean like the guy that hit him? Which is worse him having a poor start, or being hit off couple corners down the track, on lap 1?

    2. In this situation there was someone else to blame.

    3. Yeah, because he completely wrecked his race by dropping to third. lol
      This was not on, as it would not be if Bottas hit Vettel.

      You can’t just consider it a mistake, and move on.
      It’s easy to be reckless when your reckless will reward you.

      He left plenty of space and still got hit, by what should be considered a top driver, so he has a reason to be upset. But when Kimi is doing weird stuff in lap one almost every race, i would’nt believe it was on purpose.

      1. RP (@slotopen)
        9th July 2018, 3:00

        This!
        Kimi got the worst likely penalty, but at most it cost him one position. Of course he will go for it.

        I’ve been wondering, do most drivers have support reward clauses in their contracts? If Seb wins WDC does Kimi get a bonus?

        But, it is hard to get too worked up. He has this same accident several times a season.

  3. It’s this sort of weird stuff that means I’ll never fully appreciate Hamilton and Mercedes. Conspiracy theory, fake news-mongering on deliberate Ferrari tactics. It’s sad and completely unnecessary, even in the heat of the moment.

    1. Well said. It seems the fans here match really well with cry-baby Hamilton.

      1. Oh please. The fact a two word innocuous phrase has caused such controversy illustrates the mentality of the average F1 fan.

        1. As an average F1 fan I would like to apologize to you as we did not see you so high upon this horse of yours.

          This “inocous” words had plenty of meaning behind them, especially taking into account F1’s history and the suggestion they make

        2. BlameCanada
          9th July 2018, 1:34

          Two words: utterly narcissistic.

      2. I’m a Hamilton fan but agree with this. He says some ridiculous things, poor form. Make a better start and all is fine.

    2. oh pls bite me… vettel got 5 sec penalty for exactly the same situation, and he wasnt given penalty points! seriously you think conspiracy theories comes out of thin air?

      1. No he got points too.

        Get the facts straight.

      2. @mysticus

        he wasnt given penalty points!

        He was given a penalty point.

        It is interesting that he got penalised exactly half as much as RAI did but I don’t see how this apparent conspiracy theory has anything to do with VET hitting BOT (seriously both VET and RAI DID get penalised) so based on what we know (for now) and your reasoning it did probably come out of thin air.

        And that’s assuming HAM did mean to suggest some conspiracy thingie.

        1. @davidnotcoulthard ok only you can bite me

      3. @mysticus *takes a bite*… ah, so this is what manure tastes like

  4. Yep. I agree. That overtake by Seb at the start was deliberate.

    1. Manan (@mananbond007)
      8th July 2018, 17:58

      😂

    2. Carlos andres medrano
      8th July 2018, 18:04

      It took him like 5 laps to pass a much slower bottas

    3. COTD, better yet, COTY

    4. Good one..!

  5. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    8th July 2018, 16:52

    Honestly can’t believe he’d go so far to accuse Ferrari of deliberately hitting him? I mean fair enough if it turns out they did then they should be punished but come on? Really?

    1. Lewis always wants to join stronger party in f1. The same moment he notices that his team is weak he prefers to leave it as soon as possible.
      He is accusing everybody for his own failures while presenting himself as saint.
      Obviously that Ferrari is much stronger at the moment but Ferrari team has something that unfortunately Merz team will never have: DIGNITY
      Merzedes is misusing FIA authority and FIA is always bringing out anti Ferrari decisions…Nothing new!
      But Kimi and Vettel are heroes!!
      They are real heroes!!!!

      1. “He is accusing everybody for his own failures while presenting himself as saint.” wow we just forgot about barcelona so quick vettel/ferrari complaining tyre change was to benefit mercedes/redbull?

        everyone complains when things dont go their way… vettel is even swearing at race director when he doesnt get what he wants… and he gets away with warning… and slap on the wrist…

        gimme a break… when ferrar/vettel wins pure skills and super team, when hamilton wins, it is car or tyre no skills.. every week same silly comments.

      2. Ferrari team has something that unfortunately Merz team will never have: DIGNITY

        eh?

      3. I’m not with Hamilton with this, but c’mon. Any driver wants to be on the strongest side.

    2. Hamilton is the biggest moaner on the grid & constantly complaisn about ferraris tactics but look at todays race it was mercedes who used team orders not ferrari!

      1. Grosjean surely!?

        1. You mean Alonso right?

      2. yea. leaving bottas out in the cold was low.. just to slow vettel to hamilton and also give hamilton the win at his home.. kimi got a penalty.. fair enough, im happy lewis didnt win his home race.. hes too arrogant and such a sore loser, remember how he was flaming his team last week or when he accused them of sabotage

    3. And they talk about Alonso being a cancer?
      We shouldn’t be surprised as HAM accused his own team of sabotage the year ROS beat him.

  6. Oh, come on! To make such a statement is so immature. Kimi locked his tyres, so it is no way he did it deliberately. That would be stupid, risking race and health of two drivers. Maybe he made this statement in the heat of the moment after the race, but maybe next time he should restraint from saying anything altogether. Just get on with it and work on your race starts with your team. That would be the best answer to everybody instead of make such remarks.

    1. You sir have never raced in a competitive series…

      1. Give us a break with this ridiculous excuse! There’s far more obvious stuff that happened in the race that… the british race directors… staged the race to help out the compatriot. HAM is just a coward and tries to stir up things by manipulating. He’s blaming Ferrari and not RAI! Maybe ’cause he knows RAI is maybe the last guy on the grid who would do such thing and it’s just a big fat lie?! Then, he’s in F1 – at the highest level, by more than a decade, being so “emotional” after so much time it’s a lame excuse.

        1. have you seen the formula 1 youtube channel how the ferrari or redbull poles are just pole record despite breaking the record of last year… well the last one says record breaking! to give more emotion.. because if hamilton..

    2. @osvaldas31 Piquet locked his tyres. So, no way he did that crash intentional … oh wait.

  7. GtisBetter (@)
    8th July 2018, 16:56

    This seems like a very bad remark. He should know that even insinuating it will turn the internet in a frenzy with conspiracy theorie and some hate towards Kimi, while clearly Kimi just made an error.

    1. some hate towards Kimi

      @passingisoverrated – not that it would bother Kimi, he’ll either be eating an ice cream or taking a dump :-)

      1. Manan (@mananbond007)
        8th July 2018, 18:00

        Can’t agree more..!!

    2. You’re wrong again and HAM obviously is not so naive as you. He did not blame RAI, he blamed Ferrari! That’s no mistake, he knows what he’s doing…

      1. @mg1982

        He knows what he’s doing. I don’t think he knew what Ferrari were. Which is why making such a comment (almost an accusation) in public is not gentlemanly.
        Such ill-informed and baseless statements will only show him in negative light. He’s entitled to his opinion–but not when it turns into an ugly accusation. Good thing Seb and Kimi called it silly.
        Doesn’t warrant anymore discussion because the comment was silly and made in the heat of the moment.

  8. Yes they did Lewis and maybe they did so because you are black.
    We all know you are aggrieved because Vettel owned you on track twice in a row and went on to pass Bottas and win in front of your home crowd.

    1. Well said 😂

      1. Since Lewis does not like any contacts in sport he could consider start playing chess instead… but, he must still promise not to cry after loss.

    2. Thank you!

    3. This statement was bad but come on, Lewis isn’t a race baiter.

      1. Erm..how long have you been watching F1 mate?

      2. Pretty sure that was a direct quote from something that Lewis has said before.

    4. manoli moriaty
      8th July 2018, 17:32

      You just had to bring the “black” into this, right? Very clever of you

    5. @philby This!
      +10000

    6. Leave race out of it, has no place and HAM didn’t insinuate anything of the sort on the podium interview.
      Don’t give me a history lesson of what he said in the Monaco GP some years back as far as I’m concerned he made a stupid comment then and apologised for it and moved on.

      Personally, he was obviously peeved at losing from P1, on home turf and to make it worse he was hit by car from his main rivals team. Arguably I’m of the opinion if he made a better start he would’ve been locking horns with VET into the turn and not RAI.

      It was the best race of the year for me and I’m sure if BOT didn’t make that small mistake he would’ve potentially gone on to win. Also if the front 4 were all on fresh tyres i think it would’ve been an even more interesting finish.

      Hats off to VET i think he drove an excellent race didn’t make any mistakes and thoroughly deserved to win.

      The Ferrari vs Mercedes car is so close to call, It really will boil down to tactics, driver skill and team strategy for this year and now we can go into the next race hopefully with more of the same.

      I don’t think Ferrari deliberately hit any Mercedes car but there’s obviously a lot of pressure on both teams.

  9. Come on now, Lewis. Kimi made a mistake into the first corner, admitted it was his fault and accepted his penalty. No need to start any of this conspiracy theory nonsense, plenty of folks on social media will already be doing that anyway.

    1. i think if we start to see things like this, something will happen. They’ll never have any problem taking the blame for an obvious mistake.
      Like Singapore 08, nobody believed it was intention at the time, just a coincidence.

  10. It’s like a late tackle in football. How’s anyone really going to know if it was deliberate or not? It seemed to me that Raikkonen was still drifting Hamilton’s way even after he’d sorted out the tyre lock. But whatever the case, sure, Hamilton had to start better. Failure to do so means being sucked into these kind of incidents.

    1. @david-br

      It seemed to me that Raikkonen was still drifting Hamilton’s way even after he’d sorted out the tyre lock

      Yeah, watch it again, it’s called understeer.

      1. Yeah, maybe, maybe not.

        1. BlameCanada
          9th July 2018, 1:39

          Spooky action at a distance? Maybe he’s right.

      2. Matteo (@m-bagattini)
        9th July 2018, 9:46

        @asanator IMHO the lock wouldn’t have happened with tires without 0.4 mm reduction /s

  11. Neil (@neilosjames)
    8th July 2018, 17:00

    Don’t really blame him… still heat of the moment up there on the podium so I don’t for a second believe he actually means he thought it was deliberate, but… it would be fair to say that the ‘trying to win the race at the first corner’ thing that Alonso so frequently complains about in the midfield is having a quick stop-off at the red team. Two first-corner (first braking zone) takeouts in three races is a bit silly.

    I think what James Allison supposedly said (via Toto Wolff on Sky) was a fairer assessment… it’s deliberate or incompetence. Obviously it’s the latter (it was obviously a mistake, both times), but they have the right to ask the question as to whether Vettel/Raikkonen were too aggressive.

    1. Heat of the moment? He missed the interview right after they all jumped of the car, for some reason both today and yesterday he was above the protocol. He had plenty of time to think about his words.

      He said it because he actually thinks that sort of s/

      He did the same thing to his team when Rosberg lead the championship.

      1. Neil (@neilosjames)
        8th July 2018, 17:21

        His emotions were obviously still running high at that point. So yes, I’d say that still qualifies as ‘heat of the moment’ because the way he was feeling was having a strong impact on what he said…

        1. “He did the same thing to his team when Rosberg lead the championship.”

          his team mate admitted in one of them saying he did to make a point… so to make a point you can crash someone if he doesnt let you pass by parking to the side…

          You should better ask, how many sill crashes ferrari is involved in the couple of races and in the last two seasons…

          If Hamilton wins the next three races, it will be because his car’s engine turned on too much and FIA help them… Next time, vettel hits either hamilton or bottas in first lap, we talk again, because it will be again called a fair minor mistake… God forbid, if hamilton touches vettel, it will be the end of the world, and all hell will get loose because it will be obviously intentional without a doubt!

          1. That quote is in reference to Hamilton accusing his team of gifting the championship to Rosberg

    2. @neilosjames yes interesting tactics indeed, twice running now we see Mercedes drivers getting bad starts and trying to box in a fast starting Ferrari and they wonder why there have been collisions.

      1. This, very underrated reply.

  12. Crybaby Lewis. He made a bad maneuver blocking Kimi and now becomes the sarcastic.

    1. His statement is useless but made a move that blocked Kimi? Go get a life

  13. Bottas gave way to Hamilton just after Vettel got passed him. What Toto will say about team orders after this I really wonder.

    1. Bottas new he was going to get passed and didn’t fight it, as he shouldn’t since its his teammate. They didn’t have the tires to fight each other. It would have ruined both their races even more if they fought with a charging Ferrari behind them.

      1. Indeed. Times like this is where switching back positions like they did last year repays itself.

    2. While if it was the other way around people would be pointing fingers at Ferrari, Bottas was clearly struggling with his tyres, and they were older too (why they didn’t pit Bottas I don’t know).

      If he hadn’t made life easier to Hamilton the same result would’ve had happen

    3. Seeing how badly Bottas struggled after he lost the lead and let Hamilton pass, it was a smart and timely call. Bear in mind that Hamilton’s tyres were relatively newer (in comparison to Bottas) so it was worth giving Hamilton a stab at Vettel. Although unlikely to catch Vettel on pure pace, it would position Hamilton nicely in case Vettel had a driver error or car issues.

      What would have been interesting was if Kimi failed to overtake Bottas, then what would the Mercedes pitwall have done at the chequered flag?

    4. @hamiledon Lol you talking about teamorders, but you don’t have a problem with when raikonen had to move over for Vettel all the time i bet.

      1. Kimi has never moved over for Vettel.

        Bottas had a team order issued to move over about 5 times last year.

      2. Yeah just like last race right? Oh wait.. They didn’t swap positions. Seb finished 1.5 seconds behind Kimi.

  14. “interesting tactics” pitting when sc is on??

  15. This comment by Hamilton needs to be investigated by the FIA. It’s disturbing that a 4 time world champion would say that in record. I’m very disappointed and shocked to read it.

    1. If there was ever a team to make this unnecessary claim towards, it would be Ferrari.

    2. It’s disturbing that a 4 time world champion would say that in record

      to be fair imho probavly not much more so than accusing someone of brake testing and acting on said accusation…only for it to have not been true to begin with.

      1. …but crashing into them on purpose anyway.

      2. BlameCanada
        9th July 2018, 1:44

        Brake test – not technically but absolutely. Then accused Vet of doing the same thing the next year.

    3. manoli moriaty
      8th July 2018, 17:33

      Sorry, FIA doesn’t operate under Twitter-outrage rules.

    4. You may need to grow up a touch…

      This is hardly the first Ferrari punt of the recent races and there is a point questions need to be asked

      1. What kind of questions? If Vettel thought it was “good tactics” to run into Bottas, ruin his front wing and end up in the end of the field?

        These kind of things are racing incidents, especially in the first lap. Did Vettel accuse Verstappen of deliberately crashing into him in China? How many times did Bottas last year run Raikonnen out of the track?

    5. I agree that it’s unacceptable making accusations of cheating against another team. There should be a penalty for that, like for example, a ten second stop go.

    6. It’s disturbing that a 4 time world champion would say that in record

      Presumably you thought the same when Vettel accused Hamilton of deliberately brake-testing him?

      1. or hamilton accusing vettel of trying to crash in baku this year because of weird SC maneuvers… same weird maneuvers hamilton used a year before.. at least vettel slowed in the straight with space in both sides for any car to avoid any possible collision, hamilton slowed down almost in the middle of a sharp left corner nowhere to go

        1. You keep saying this.

          The data which I know you have seen proved it was not so.

          Let it go – Seb has issues on restarts. It’s hardly unknown.

  16. Remember when Hamilton locked up into T1 at the restart at the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix, and knocked aside Ricciardo? Interesting tactics.

    Remember when Bottas locked up into T1 at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, and hit Hamilton? Interesting tactics.

    Remember when racing incidents happen all the time in all forms of motorsport, because motorsport is inherently risky? Interesting.

    1. Remember when Hamilton misjudged a passing opportunity in Spain 2016 and took himself and his opponent out of the race?

      1. Recall Mexico last year when VET hit HAM in very similar circumstances. Three times FER hav rear ended the MERC since then, ie 13 races. Coincidence or not MERC correct to question FER aggressive conduct at start of races. Let us not forget Singapore whereVER was victim of FER sandwich 🥪…

      2. No, we don’t because it was Rosberg who made the error.

        1. It was Rosberg who was in front of him. Rosberg covered the inside line but Hamilton had overcommitted.

          Stupid thing to do on the first lap of 50-odd lap race.

          1. Really?

            Even if the guy in front is 30mph slower than you?

            You must have fun racing.

            And by the way – Rosberg covered the wrong line – watch it again.

          2. You go to the outside if the guy is 30mph slower than you. How daft to overcommit down the inside. Hamilton thought he could have bullied Rosberg into yielding like he always did to Hamilton.

        2. It is recommendable to Merz to sign Rosberg again.
          Lewis can work very precisely when such type of driver is with him only.
          But Lewis, DRIVE only an be fully concentrated on Driving.
          Please, No Tears. Rosberg will be better again..

  17. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
    8th July 2018, 17:02

    Kimi seems to have a new lease of life and I love it. Shame about the incident but come on Lewis, be sensible.

  18. LOL. I highly doubt it was deliberate. These type of things simply can happen sometimes.

  19. Meh, keep whining, man… at the other side of the road, Kimi admitted being at fault and deserving the penalty. Different personalities, I guess…

    Very low from Hamilton. I understand he’s disappointed but still.

    1. Well Hamilton can often be quite contrite to be honest, but his comments here are ridiculous and disappointing.

  20. Heat of the moment? He missed the interview right after they all jumped of the car, for some reason both today and yesterday he was above the protocol. He had plenty of time to think about his words.

    He said it because he actually thinks that sort of s/

    He did the same thing to his team when Rosberg lead the championship.

    1. Ups duplicate

    2. +1.

      He started to call God, that Mercedes took better care of the other side of the garage (= Rosberg) etc etc. This is 1 of the main reasons I’m not a HAM fan, his personality is obviously too “dramatic”, manipulative.

      1. @mg1982 Your comments are just as bad as his if you can’t keep the emotion out of it. That goes for the rest of the other HAM haters, you don’t have to like the guy’s image (personally don’t care for it) but his abilities in an F1 car are exemplary as is VET’s, etc.

        Simply understanding the position he’s in after the last couple of races tells a story, it’s going to be a tough season and Ferrari/VET want those title(s). The translation of what VET said on the radio after the race was a “gloves off” comment and to be honest he didn’t need to say it but he did, again adrenaline running high…

  21. Raikonnen is the rear gunner for Seb. If you can’t beat ’em, take ’em out.

    Ferrari to win WDC and WCC. Forza Ferrari, Tet, Tet, Tet, Ragazzi, Ragazzi.

  22. Hemingway (@)
    8th July 2018, 17:09

    HAHAHA! I bet Kimi’s glad Montreal has passed so Lewis doesn’t get the chance to smash into the back of him in the pit lane as revenge… Imagine that!

  23. Hamilton is spoilt, immature, petulant, and unsporting. The fact that James Vowles had to go on air in front of the whole world lst week to tell him that “I threw away the win today”, shows how far Mercedes have to go to keep Hamilton from throwing his toys out of the cot. As with “Liegate”, someone has to become the scapegoat. Today again, the tone his race engineer used was that of keeping a child from throwing a tantrum.

    Accusing Raikonnen of trying to take him out is laughable, as no driver can risk doing that knowing whether either car will survive the incident or no. The same could have been said of Hamilton in Montreal 2008, when he took out Raikonnen. But Kimi has way more class than that. What lost Hamilton this race was his start – he was already down to third when he went of the track.

    And his skipping the interviews with Brundle just reeks of lack of class and sportsmanship. You had a bad day, take it on the chin. That’s what they all do. His problem is that when something goes wrong, there should always be somebody to blame. But then again, we live now in a society where being a victim has become an inherent virtue for some reason.

    1. Waiting for Essay no. 2….

      1. @gufdamm You mean we all should take your lead and throw in sarcastic one-liners in stead of formulating proper arguments? I’ve always felt that this is what seperates this site from others, such as PlanetF1, where no sane adult can really engage in conversation about the sport.

        1. I read your entire essay and it wasn’t filled with anything meaningful. Just personal attacks, that could be saved for Lewis’ Instagram. If it wasn’t personal, it was irrelevant anecdotes. I am hoping your second will be a worthy read.

          1. @GufDamm and the trophy for ‘worst posts of the day’ go to you. Keep in mind there are many by now, but you won by a margin. Congrats…

        2. And you are obviously taking adult argument to a whole new level…

          ‘Interesting tactics’ is hardly the same as a direct accusation and smashing into your rival’s car in a fit of road rage. It’s airing his suspicion that the collision was on purpose, which given how many collisions Hamilton has suffered over the years that were on purpose isn’t unreasonable.

          My own view is Raikkonon always drives around as though he’s in his own personal race. It’s like the obsession he once had with setting fastest laps.

      2. Why is it so wrong that James went to the air and apologized for HIS mistake? HAM apologized as well today for his mistake, i think this is a healthy work environment. And don’t get me wrong, I’m against the whining that HAM always have but i don’t see why James apologizing is so wrong. I think James and the team did two other mistakes today, first was pitting BOT after Vettel when margin decreased to 4 seconds, VET was vulnerable for the undercut at this stage, second mistake was leaving BOT out after the first SC instead pitting for a new set of tires. MERC staff should start keeping those systems away and start thinking rationally.

        1. There is nothing wrong with Vowels coming on the radio to apologise for his mistake, it was a noble thing to do. What IS wrong however is that he had to do it to stop Hamilton moaning/crying about the situation and to motivate him to keep racing!

    2. * Raikkonen

    3. Mercedes could save themselves $100-150 million by upgrading to Ricciardo.

      Hammy’s rattled. Put everything into qualifying yesterday only to be 0.3 second quicker than Bottas. Hands were visibly shaking.

      1. Where’s my cigarette

  24. Really poor show. Especially as Kimi admitted screwing up.

    1. Well, that’s the least he could do.

  25. Keep crying

    1. Matteo (@m-bagattini)
      9th July 2018, 9:51

      @rntm Still I cry

      1. Matteo (@m-bagattini)
        9th July 2018, 9:52

        @rntm Wait, Still I Whine is better

  26. Bordering on defamation, this statement. Extremely disappointing to see an otherwise great driver so unsportsmanlike off the track. He avoided the post-race interviews before suggesting Raikkonen hit him on purpose. I think this is exactly why I cannot fully embrace Lewis Hamilton. I mean, he is among the greatest ever drivers but he acts like a spoilt brat whenever things go wrong. Blaming his team for mistakes, then returning 1-2 days later with a motivational speech definitely not written by himself.

    1. ” then returning 1-2 days later with a motivational speech definitely not written by himself” 🤣🤣🤣🤣

  27. pathetic comment, he’s always trying to play mind games.

    1. Matteo (@m-bagattini)
      9th July 2018, 9:56

      I really hope Vettel and Ferrari are starting to do the same, putting some pressure with their behavior. It’s a very weak spot for Hamilton and they need to sting there. Seb in his team radio said something like “we beat them at their home race” and later raised the steering wheel like Ham did a few races ago.

  28. You can’t take Hamilton serious with these things.

    Back in the Rosberg days he thought his own team was trying to sabotage him when strategy didn’t go his way.

    He’s bit of a conspiracy theorist.

    On the third corner of the race, and given the massive Mercedes horsepower advantage (Vettel with new softs struggled to pass Bottas with shot mediums), maybe Hamilton should have yielded that corner to Kimi and went with a switch back. If you don’t get him on the next corner, with the switch back you’ll be able to stay close and get him going into Brooklands.

    Kimi was well along the inside and it was more his corner than Hamilton’s.

    Kimi’s mistake, but if you’re fighting for a world championship don’t put your car in a position where there’s no margin for error.

    For Hamilton and Toto to be accusing Ferrari of tactically crashing into Mercedes cars is pretty classless and shows how spooked they are to be in a real fight for the championship.

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      8th July 2018, 18:12

      Yeah,right and look at where Rosberg was the day after he won the championship. You can’t seriously blame Lewis for the accident.

      Kimi,by the way can, is the 2nd best wheel to wheel driver on the grid by a mile…

      The fact that he tangled with the best wheel to wheel driver is very unlikely.

    2. @anon

      For Hamilton and Toto to be accusing Ferrari of tactically crashing into Mercedes cars is pretty classless

      And pretty stupid too since they have cited Vettel’s incident with Valteri in the French GP. While the tin foil hat could be worn by Hamilton/Toto when Raikkonen crashes into Hamilton. Vettel has no interest at all to crash into Valteri.

      1. Hamilton is a guy whom was willing to try to back his teammate into the opposition to win. Hamilton sees foul play, because he is foul play.

  29. Disgusting behaviour from Hamilton today, missing the interview and suggesting Ferrari foul play. Very low.

  30. Once again, Lewis plays the Victim card. Pathetic. And even worse is that Toto Wolff backed up Lewis’ assertion in his post race Sky interview.

    1. Hammy should be grateful that Toto sacrificed Felipe Bottas’s race for him.

      Man, that was pure madness not pitting Bottas. Bottas would have come out 2nd. How they thought Bottas with old mediums would be able to keep Vettel behind him for 20 laps with fresh softs I don’t know.

      Saved them having to make a “Hammy is faster than you” team order I suppose.

      1. Exactly! They sacrificed BOT on purpose so that HAM has a chance to finish ahead. “Funny” that all these guys who notice that Ferrari is sacrificing RAI on strategy to keep VET ahead didn’t notice the same pattern today with Mercedes.

        1. in the process they tried to slow seb too so hamilton had a chance to the win… i feel bad for bottas

  31. He knows full well that it was he who threw away all his hard work in quali yesterday with that sub-par getaway. This accusation is just stupid and if it’s only in the hear of the moment, then it’s fine. If he persists then it’s not

    1. @sravan-pe It wasn’t in the heat of the moment. It was after the podium ceremony – which was itself after the original interviews, which he did not deem was worth gracing with his presence. He had a lot of time to think about what to say beforehand.

  32. Mercedes brand taking a dual hammering from two people they pay ridiculous amounts of money to …

  33. Wow, he really did miss out on his childhood.

  34. “Interesting tactics, I would say, from their [Ferrari] side. But we’ll do all we can to fight them and improve in the next races.”

    Not sure what he actually meant there but coming up with a sentence which has the effect of implicitly accusing a rival of hitting you intentionally (apparently resulting in what is in fact the intended effect) isn’t something one would want to do.

    OTOH I’m don’t think just because there’s already an interview before the podium ceremony HAM was already not in the heat of the moment afterwards – if this were e.g. 2 years ago and someone says something weird like that and tries to explain it on heat of the moment grounds it would’ve, by that logic, been acceptable. Since not that much more time passed today before the ceremony, how would that really make sense? Does a rescheduling of the ceremony really magically make a driver cool down from the heat of the moment completely?

    Still I don’t think that’s a sentence that’s going to leave anyone heaped with praise.

  35. After the way Hamilton lost the 2016 title he should be the last person to ever criticise interesting tactics.

    1. @skipgamer Because he had an engine failure while leading the race in Malaysia (plus seeral power train failures in the first half of the season)? How is that an interesting tactic? Or are you saying Mercedes sabotaged the car?

      1. Hamilton only retired from a race once in 2016.

        Rosberg had won nine races to Hamilton’s six going into the last four races of 2016.

        Rosberg did the sensible thing and just brought it home in second with minimal risk in the last four races.

        No, Hamilton lost the championship because he blew about half a dozen race starts (like this weekend…still hasn’t got the hang of it), crashed in Baku qualifying, got down in the dumps in Shanghai (like he often does on the radio when things don’t go his way) and stopped trying. A podium was on that day with his massive car advantage.

        1. Excellent revision of history there where you forgot Hamilton started virtually at the back in four races due to failures in qualm as well as having to take an engine penalty?

          The only engine penalty in a Merc since the start of the series but no reliability played no part. Particularly as Rosberg suffered none.

          You don’t win more races, get more podiums and out qualify the eventual champion normally.

          Hamilton did…

  36. Manan (@mananbond007)
    8th July 2018, 17:55

    He is such a cry baby…!!!

  37. Childish from Hamilton. I’m pretty sure that he has also made mistakes and crashed with others. A driver with common sense doesn’t intentionally do those things because there’s a big risk to ruin one’s own race too.

  38. Hamilton’s statement doesn’t surprise me as it’s a repeat of his poor sportsmanship.
    But Toto Wolff’s statement of the wreck either being planned or Kimi’s incompetence is really low.
    I’m not a Merc or Ferrari fan but I have to say I will be rooting for Ferrari now.
    To think Merc let Brawn go and kept Wolff is more than enough reason for me to relish him struggling.
    Go Ferrari..

    1. True
      i’m not surprise of Hamilton behavior …. but Toto pretty low statement man

  39. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    8th July 2018, 18:07

    Well, there are a lot of strange things happening. The 2 incidents are very similar and they allowed both Serb and Kimi to continue racing.

    Let’s also not forget the 2 wheel issues with Haas in Australia.

    We should also bear in mind that James Alison is one of the top Ferrari men. Lewis is also scratching his head.

    If you are not wondering and feel it’s all coincidence, well, kudos to you.

    1. Well, I think you covered all the conspiracy theories. Thing is, none hold water more than 1%.

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        9th July 2018, 3:20

        @mg1982 maybe they don’t – do they need to? When Horner and Alonso talk about the other Ferrari powered teams, are they right or wrong?

        Perhaps, they are just silly stupid folks with many championships under their belts who know a lot more than you and I do:-)

        1. Yes. They. Do. Need. To. Otherwise. It. Is. Nonsense.

          1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            9th July 2018, 14:14

            Sorry but I’m going to lean on the side of Lewis, Toto, James, Christian, and Fernando rather than your side– no offense intended.

    2. @freelittlebirds I honestly thought about you as soon as I read what Hamilton said. I wondered what trip your insightful mind would take us.

      But here I stand, disappointed, you forgot about Grosjean purposely crashing with Sainz, allowing Kimi to take advantage of the SC and get to the podium.

      I guess I expected more from you

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        9th July 2018, 3:27

        @johnmilk you’re giving me too much credit – I have no clue what goes though Lewis’, Toto’s, and James’ minds :-)

    3. @freelittlebirds I lost you at the Haas thing

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        9th July 2018, 13:27

        @m-bagattini
        Apparently, you were in the minority. Horner and Alonso didn’t:-)

  40. Devilishly clever of Ferrari to get Hamilton to sink from pole to dicing with Kimi down in P3 so Raikkonen could spin him off.
    #masterplan

  41. YellowSubmarine
    8th July 2018, 19:00

    So, all these indignant fans castigating Lewis for saying ferrari had used ‘interesting tactics’…how do you know the Kimi shunt wasn’t deliberate?
    Are you in the f1 inner circle? Do you definitively know better than Lewis and Toto (who backed Lewis)? Are you telling us ferrari would NEVER think of such tactics, they’ve never used similar tactics in their history?
    Are you kidding??
    Or are you just another bunch of self-proclaimed f1 “experts”, the majority of whom have never even attended a race live, sitting at home on your sofa and passing judgement on stuff you have no idea of?
    One suspects the answer is obvious.

    1. how do you know the Kimi shunt wasn’t deliberate

      Probability.

      Are you in the f1 inner circle? Do you definitively know better than Lewis and Toto (who backed Lewis)?

      No.
      Are you telling us ferrari would NEVER think of such tactics, they’ve never used similar tactics in their history?

      I’m struggling to think when they have, as a team, strategised to take other cars out of a race.

      1. YellowSubmarine
        8th July 2018, 21:01

        And what’s the probability that a Ferrari driver will take out a Mercedes driver on successive weekends, with the underlying premise that the reverse does not happen?

        I’m struggling to think

        That explains your posting, then.

        1. I mean, it’s up to you to take potshots at a human error, but usually it (and your deliberate misleading semi-quote) is a sign of desperation to somehow win an argument at all costs.

        2. i hope you are joking Man
          the only time ferrari did that was with Schumacher when he was driving for ferrari with Eddie Irvine
          and i think was the time he bump to Villeneuve and i think was spain 1997… but that wasn’t team order was Schumacker being schumacker…. what happen yesterday was a racing accident…. kimi also try to break before the turn…..
          but turn this into a conspiracy theory about ferrari clashing against Merc to take them out is very very STUPID … please give up watching F1 and watch another sport man …

    2. I think Lewis is referring to the team orders in the last two races: Mercedes swaps drivers but Ferrari doesn’t!!!

  42. What’s up with the people at Mercedes? Last week the strategy had to come on the radio twice to calm Lewis down and now they come with this kind of stuff.

    Sad to see

    1. Problem at Mercedes is the pressure. This is the first time, apart from last year, where everybody has to be perfect in order to win.
      Last year Ferrari made mistakes, both the drivers and the team (strategy)
      This year you see more mistakes by Mercedes.
      I remember something Hamilton said some weeks ago.
      ‘Ferrari doing a better job but will falter, says Hamilton’
      Karma?

  43. Michael Ward
    8th July 2018, 19:05

    Aaaaaaand this is why people dislike Lewis ‘It’s-a-conspiracy” Hamilton, Ferrari hit him on purpose, Perrelli changed the tyres to help Ferrari, Mercedes helped Rosberg against him, etc. Can’t even face the “greatest fans in the world” (they must travel to every race) after the race is over.

  44. Guys its not only Lewis, hear TOTO here

    1. Lol and he uses the words of Allison.
      One wouldn’t expect this statement from a team leader.

      1. Bit like politicians, once the think tank come up with the message, everyone is handed the paper and constantly repeat it.
        Merc also have so much money, and other investors in this they dare not win.

        I really like LH’s driving but when the pressure’s on he does need to be handled with kid gloves.
        At least Alonso’s radio chats are sometimes quite funny.

        Bad luck again for the bulls, their reliability is a real liability. Need some extra ponies in the back of those things.

        1. People say stupid things when things don’t go their way.
          These comments about cheating is also a way to influence the stewards.

          When Lewis is in trouble you can see he needs support. As if he needs a mental trainer to give him confidence.
          It’s one of his only weaknesses.

          We’ll see more and more technical problems as the season continues. Soon grid penalties will be given to certain drivers. Red Bull but also Bottas is close to a penalty, as is Raikkonen.

  45. I guess Hamilton is trying to get the number 1 status asap…

  46. There is this sense among many F1 fans that there are a breed of racers who drive their hearts out, are insanely fast and hero-like in their racing instinct. Villeneuve, Senna and Hamilton usually fall into this category, as opposed to the supposed ‘politickers’ like Pironi, Prost and Vettel. I think there’s absolutely no doubt given Hamilton’s comments during most of the broadcasted conferences from last year and several of his comments on the media this year including this one, that he is one of the top propagandists on the grid. This has grown to the extent that now whenever I hear Lewis speak, I’m pretty sure he’s not speaking from the heart, but rather to achieve a certain end, either in the eyes of fans, his team, or the invisible ‘legacy’. Verstappen has been similar for quite some time. I guess most F1 drivers are like that, maybe with the exception of Ricciardo and the two Finns to some extent. I guess the competition makes you that guy, an unlikeable fellow always invested in crafting his own image in a way to make you look good in the eyes of everyone.

    I fear for what will happen to Hamilton once he retires. I personally think he’ll dissociate himself from motorsport completely. The guy was bred to compete in F1, and just that. Similar for Verstappen.

    1. Whenever I hear Hamilton in post race interviews, he talks about how great the fans are.
      He’s got nothing better to say than memorised stuff.
      The worst thing I have to listen to is his whining during the race about how his car or his tires are falling apart.

  47. 4 Phillips road
    Gwersyllt

  48. You all forgot what Hamilton did with Massa few years ago?
    He is the last man in the world who can blame Ferrari!

  49. I think Lewis is referring to the team orders: Mercedes swaps drivers but Ferrari doesn’t!!!

  50. Of course it was not deliberate. Just Mercedes and Lewis playing mind games with the Ferrari boys and the FIA. Vettel cracks under pressure so it’s a good strategy.
    Okay, it was not on purpose, but Ferrari took out two Mercedes out of the fight for the race on two different weekends and reap the rewards out of it. That’s just plain wrong, they should not have that advantage and i do believe a third time will have a harsher penalty.

  51. Just to illustrate how stupid and childish Hamilton’s accusations are:

    He was on pole. He should have made a good start and pulled away but didn’t and was overtaken by Vettel. Ferrari could not have pre-planned Hamilton’s bad start.
    – Bottas made a great start and passed both Raikkonen and Hamilton by the first corner. That was what put the other two in those relative track positions.
    – Raikkonen tried to pass Hamilton but locked-up his wheels and the two collided. It was the Finn’s fault but definitely an unplanned racing incident that happened in a fraction of a second.

    The penalty was deserved and proportionate. That’s about it.

  52. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    9th July 2018, 14:32

    The big question is how desperate is Ferrari to win this year? They have gone 10 years without winning a championship and they practically threw away the championship last year, a sentiment that’s also shared by Sergio Marchionne.

    Seb has occupied the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd spots in the WDC over 3 years and obviously he must feel that this year is the one he can make it happen.

    Horner’s statements at the Australian GP were pretty strong about Ferrari and every public word probably is backed by other rumors. The same statement was recently made by Fernando Alonso about 3 Ferrari teams.

    It’s practically impossible to pass a car without a massive speed differential – yesterday Horner stated that you need to have close to a 2 second speed difference (3 for Red Bull because of their lower speed to pass). Vettel passed Bottas but at that point, he was 2 seconds quicker which backs Horner’s statement.

    So if cars cannot pass each other on track without a new set of faster tyres over worn slower tyres, a friendly spinning nudge from behind at the start of the race is actually one of the best performance improvements that any of the top teams could make.

    In fact with the World cup taking place right now, it is the equivalent of a yellow card foul – have we seen any of those?;-) Of course we have and all teams use them. You get a time penalty which you can execute and still beat the car that was in front of you. If you add safety cars which have been part of many races this season and defined the races, the time penalty is less severe.

    Anyway, food for thought. Let’s also not forget that Ferrari hail from the same country that Juventus hails from and if you’ve ever watched Juventus play, you’d know that the nudge is closer to a handshake from a Juventus defender than an actual tactic.

  53. Hamilton and Wolff are quite the pair. Talk about welcoming competition and the fight with Ferrari. As soon as things start going wrong they will happily drag the sport they “love” through the mud to make themselves look hard done by. Always saying the right things until the crunch these two. Then true colours show.

Comments are closed.