Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Silverstone, 2018

Hamilton was “struggling to stand” after race

2018 British Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton said he was too exhausted to give an interview immediately after the British Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver was asked in the post-race press conference whether he refused to speak because he was frustrated at Kimi Raikkonen for hitting him on the first lap.

“Not at all,” Hamilton answered. “See, it’s easy for you to sit and watch the race. I sweat my arse off in that race.

“I pushed absolutely one hundred, a thousand percent every bit, of energy I had. I didn’t have anything left when I was coming in.

“People expect you to get out of the car and wave and smile and all that. I gave everything I could, I was struggling to stand.

“It’s so physical nowadays and it’s different when you’re in the lead and you can control the pace. I was coming from last. I didn’t have much to give at that time, I needed to take a deep breath. I don’t have any problems with Kimi.”

Hamilton defended Mercedes’ decision not to bring him in for a pit stop during a Safety Car period at the end of the race. Mercedes left both drivers out when the Safety Car came out, which left them on old tyres but helped them move ahead of rivals who pitted.

“I can’t speak for Valtteri because I guess he was obviously in the lead,” said Hamilton. “And they believed that perhaps he would be able to hold on.

“For me the guys pitted in front of me, that was an opportunity to get up into third. I think it was the right decision.

“If I’d followed them and come in I would have come out behind them, we’d have had the equal tyres and I would have struggled to get behind them and most certainly wouldn’t have been second. These guys would have pulled away. So I think it was 100% the right decision. Particularly on my car.

“I don’t know how many laps Valtteri had had, but most likely it was the right decision for him too. But it was very hard on our tyres fighting against people with brand new tyres, for sure. In a perfect world I would have had new tyres but it wasn’t that kind of day for me.”

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Keith Collantine
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70 comments on “Hamilton was “struggling to stand” after race”

  1. I don’t know if that’s true. But I also don’t think he was too annoyed or too much of a prima donna to do the interview, as he didn’t do anything wrong all race, so it would’ve been a standard interview, it’s not like he made the mistake. But being too exhausted is a weird reason when they’re used to having to do it every week, even after races in Malaysia etc which are more humid.

    1. Right…

      What race in Malaysia were they required to undertake these ridiculously crass grid interviews?

      This yacking as you get out the car is a new stunt and one that really annoys me!

      I do not blame him for refusing an interview after such a race long effort

      1. And prima donna lewis,
        Remember once forever!!!
        Germany is not YOUR home!!!

      2. Sorry if it wasn’t clear, with Malaysia I was talking about the ‘not being able to stand’ bit, as that race is considered the most physically challenging.

      3. Sonny Crocket
        9th July 2018, 11:09

        Liberty are clearly going for a MotoGP style post-race interview. Unfortunately it all still feels a bit clunky and amateur.

        They should just copy the MotoGP format completely which allows the top 3 riders some time to celebrate with their team, compose themselves and then walk over to the interviewer once they’re ready.

        It says a lot about Ecclestone-era F1 that, in almost every way possible, MotoGP coverage is superior and F1 is trying to catch-up.

  2. Well, I agree with him. Being as salty as he was sure leaves you dehydrated, so it’s no wonder there was nothing left after the race that already causes dehydration as it is.

    1. Salt and vinegar, right?

    2. A gem!

  3. I’m surprised he didn’t compare his drive, and post race condition, with the time they had to lift Senna from his McLaren in Brazil.

    1. /micdrop

  4. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
    8th July 2018, 18:32

    Well, i don’t respect Hamilton for refusing to give an interview when he was supposed to. But I really hate the way these interviews are done. Speaking to the drivers as soon as they get out of their car after a race.

    I feel this may go badly at times. Think about if a driver had comfortably led a race, then on the last lap, something happens that results in them loosing 2 places. Are they going to want to speak to the media as soon as they first get out the car? The drivers should always be able to go to the cool down room and keep away from the media. The decision to interview them before this rather than on the podium baffles me. It never feels as organised or professionally done and the drivers clearly are less willing to speak. Compared to after they have had a break in the cool down room and had a bit of time on the podium. I see virtually nothing better about the way this is done now.

    1. @thegianthogweed – it’s not meant to be a comparison, but C4 interviewed Leclerc shortly after his retirement, and I – like the C4 team – was greatly impressed by how mature and calm Leclerc was about the whole thing.

      Also, seeing as how Liberty are all about the show, it’s not a surprise that they’d like to capture drivers in their rawest state, before they’ve calmed down and thought things over, and before being coached by their media handlers.

    2. @thegianthogweed @phylyp I wish they’d revert to the interviews taking place on the podium. I liked that format better than this.

      1. +1. New immediate interviews are annoying. Especially the Austria fiasco where the winner (Verstappen) didn’t even know he had to drive and park on the grid, rather than parc ferme as usual. Only for them to delay the fans from getting on track to watch the podium.

        I bet the fans can’t hear the parc ferme interviews as well as they could hear the podium ones (although even then it seems the PA has been notoriously dodgy).

      2. +2. It was much better when it was after the podium.

      3. + 3 prefer podium interviews

    3. I agree it was better after the podium. This is what they do at MotoGP and Nascar (if I remember correctly, been a while) and F1 wants to be like others these days.

  5. If this is too much physical for Lewis than just think how much difficult physically for Alonso who is in his straight back to back 5 to 6 race weeks.

    1. I think Lewis does not sleep a lot.. I remember that he said he sleeps at around 5 hours a day… Although I will be extremely shocked that this is true because it takes an insane amount of energy to do his job.

      1. his a busy man. always doing promo stuff so i can believe that he might be telling the truth about 5 hrs a day.

  6. I don’t buy Hamilton’s excuse. Curiously when he wins he never feels exhausted to give the post race interview. Also I think that his answer “See, it’s easy for you to sit and watch the race” was irrespectful to the interviewer.

    1. Curiously when he wins he never feels exhausted

      I mean the 3rd place trophy is the lowest in mass but the hardest to lift for a reason.

      1. What about the 2nd place trophy?

    2. When your out front you control the pace. When your pushing every lap of the race to come back from last, it’s going to be many times more physical.

      How is this even difficult to understand?

      1. Because it is BS.

        1. Thanks for the insight.

        2. Right…

          You clearly have yet to undertake such.

          Best stick to dominos pal.

      2. Beacause if your in first or last, your driving the same track and pushing. You will have some cars to pass but the function and idea are the same. Drive fast and pass cars.

      3. Disagree.
        If HAM didn’t have a car that was capable of passing most of the cars quite easily then I can see your point. But he did.
        He sped through the field and really didn’t have a lengthy battle with anyone and was in fact helped by the safety car twice which enabled him to recover if in fact he was exhausted.

        To anyone other than a diehard Hamilton fan this is purely a case of him avoiding the press because he can’t accept defeat at times. Last week was not good for him and now this. He, Wolff and Lauda made despicable comments and should apologize.

        No place for this in F1.

        1. +1 once again he made a fool of himself, going on to make a bigger fool of himself when he tried to make a excuse for his now mandatory sulk. Sooner he’s out of the sport the better!

    3. Spain 2017? and he won that race mind you. look how exhausted he was in the cool down room.

  7. Yuuuuup.

    Looked just fine storming away to the post race room.

    1. he actually was in the background waiting for his turn to be interviewed but then left. so no he didnt storm to the post race room.

      1. Yes, he did. You’re a HAM F-boy in denial who makes up facts and uses ridiculous flawed deduction to arrive at a favourable outcome.

      2. Andrew (@bombinaround)
        9th July 2018, 13:30

        @lucifer you should probably re-watch the footage. Brundle did the interview with Seb, then went to find Hamilton and you could see him in the background walking off already with helmet still on. So Martin interviewed Kimi and once they were done, they cut back to footage of Hamilton walking off up the stairs to the cool-down room.

        It was interesting to note that later on the Sky coverage when Martin came back, he said that he headed up to the driver’s cool down room and the FIA media guy told him to be careful as Hamilton was not in the mood for an interview (or something to that effect). By the time Martin made it to the podium for the interview, clearly Hamilton had calmed down and was prepared to talk

  8. Maybe he should spend more time in the gym then, I don’t see any other drivers complaining about their physical fitness.

    Look at Alonso, LeMans 24 hours, Paul Ricard, Austria and Silverstone all back to back and I don’t imagine for a second he was pushing any less hard.

    1. You forgot Canadian grand prix before 24 hours of le mans.

    2. Push… like animal!

  9. Drama Queen..

  10. He probably didn’t do the inteview to avoid saying things that could be trouble for him later. Like attacking Kimi.

    1. I this is exactly the case. He believes it was a Ferrari conspiracy to take him out, nothing to do with disappointment or embarrassment.

  11. Sure, was already too tired at the start to do it properly

  12. Just give the guy a break, I dont understand why everyone feels the need to “judge” whatever he says.

  13. Who cares anyway, these post-race interviews are horrid.
    However, I do believe Hamilton. Ferrari had the upper hand this weekend but it was Lewis’ sheer performance that didn’t make it seem so. The home turf advantage certainly inspires him, but also leaves him drained.

    1. Not sure about that. The Mercedes was better in the race and had Lewis retained 3rd after the 3rd corner, I doubt Vettel would have finished 1st because Seb almost 4 tenths a lap slower to Valterri at the end of his soft tyre stint. While Valterri was 4 tenths quicker on average during the medium tyre stint. We all saw that Lewis still had pace on the end with the mediums. Remember that Seb ran out of front left tyre life during his first stint.

      1. @krichelle The annoying thing for me is that Raikonnen’s wheel to wheel clumsiness (unfortunately a common occurrence in the last 2-3 seasons) denied us a compelling fight between Hamilton and Vettel, following Hamilton’s poor start.

        The race had the pontential to mirror Spa 2017 (my favourite race of last season), with two closely matched drivers duelling in closely matched cars with differing strengths. It would have been a race-long tussle, rather than, Hamilton’s inevitable, adrenaline-rush-lead, smash through the field from P20 to P7. We have all seen drivers from the top three teams (Vettel / Verstappen / now Hamilton) carve through the lower order – it’s not that exciting….

        Despite flashes of speed, Raikonnen’s replacement can’t come soon enough.

  14. Proof that Mercedes’ new engine is Flintstones(TM) powered.

  15. Bulllllllll-Bleep. Just another one of his EMO moods.

    Which I find highly entertaining.

  16. Ben (@scuderia29)
    8th July 2018, 22:48

    What a lie, these drivers do upwards of 2 race distances in a day in testing, they drive week in week out, these drivers can handle it just fine, if bottas and vettel took each other out at the end and Hamilton won he could have stood just fine.

  17. Nigel Mansell, he showed us what it looks like to not be able to stand after a race.

    Lewis storming off Parc ferme was not at all similar visually.

  18. Gemma St. Ivans
    8th July 2018, 23:59

    Lewis Bieber displays poor sportsmanship when he loses.

  19. Timing of interviews are ridiculous. Should be as before, on the podium.
    He was frustrated, did not want to talk, his right to not do it.

  20. mark jackson
    9th July 2018, 1:48

    How come no one talks about Seb’s amazing performance this weekend…he qualified on the front row, took the lead into T1, drove a faultless race, took a gamble under the safety car, overtook Bottas on track, took the win on a circuit Mercedes dominated the past 4 years but all everyone talks about is Lewis acting like a child. smh

  21. Jesus H Christ. The unbiased Hamilton hate in this place. If this was Alonso you’d all be saying what a legend he is. I thought this place was better than reddit or other F1 fan sites. I guess I was wrong

    1. Don’t worry. I’m sure there is a place somewhere where all the people agree with you.

  22. Hammy needs to maybe look at his lifestyle.

    Vettel has an injured neck yet got through the race unscathed.

    Hammy shaking after qualifying on Saturday was strange. It’s not like he beat Bottas by 1 second, it was 0.3 second. Bottas wasn’t much faster than an old Felipe Massa.

  23. Great drive by Hamilton. The way he moved back up the field, he really looked like he was in a different league. Well, until he caught up the Red Bulls and Ferraris, of course. But even then he showed the difference between him and Bottas. Valtteri did have slightly older tyres but it shows how great job Hamilton did with tyre management over the course of the race where he had to make up so many positions. I was really impressed.

    I was less impressed, however, with his behaviour after the race. It’s clear that he wasn’t in the mood for the interview and the whole “too exhausted to stand” thing is just a flimsy excuse. I don’t think it’s debatable.

    Looking and his behaviour after the qualifying and after the race I just wonder if he really is like that or is it some kind of intricate act for the public.
    What do you think?

    1. @torrit I agree, Hamilton’s excuse “too exhausted to stand” doesn’t hold water, he was pacing around the post race room and had all the body language of someone very annoyed.
      It’s pretty simple IMO he needed to get into a controlled rage to work through the field, and must have used the injustice of the Kimi tap to get himself in the zone. By the end of the race he was probably fuming and needed to cool off, so avoiding the media was probably a good call.
      I think if that is the case and Hamilton told his fans that, it would gain him greater respect rather than making up a half baked excuse. That’s the reason a lot of people find it hard to warm to Hamilton, he’s a gifted driver but lacks that genuine nature, again IMO.

  24. Hamilton is usually very cooperative with the media, so if he refuses to give an interview then I’d say he has his reasons. It’s certainly an achievement to finish on the podium from last place, I don’t know how many others have done that sort of thing but I don’t think it’s very common.

  25. I’m worried for Hamilton going forward if this is the case. If all those easy DRS passes were so physically demanding on him maybe he needs to relook at his training and preparation for races, he should be able to physcially stand up after any race, no matter which track it is.

  26. Again, fell the mask ….. and reveals the true person who is … a true prima donna, the only thing one knows to do as no one is to complain about everything and everyone, and when convinced that things are won in advance, and then do not materialize is this attitude of spoiled boy ….

  27. I think he angry to kimi and exhaust too. But angry > exhaust

  28. I am not a fan of this new practice of putting a mic to driver’s face even before he is fully out of the car. Let them rest for few minutes in the waiting room and then start the interviews. The mediocre Kimi is definitely told by his team to raise his game and be more aggressive which now resulting in him making silly mistakes, locking out and taking out drivers. Lewis was right to be furious to go from P3 to dead last by no fault of his own.

  29. I am very much not a HAM fan, but this time I have to come down on his side.

    He had (been?) built up for a great home turf victory, missed it, and did a brilliant recovery drive. It must have been both emotionally and physically draining. Let him have a few minutes and a bottle of water.

    Also, considering his shaking hands after quali: has anyone considered the simple and obvious explanation: maybe he wasn’t feeling well? Happens to all of us.

  30. Not a LH fan and he reinforced why for me yesterday. Disingenuous, entitled, and sulky especially when everything isn’t perfect. He does not at all appear grateful to me, but rather loves to play the ‘pity me’ card. Just can’t get behind that. So when he does say something nice about the crowds or the support he gets, I believe him less, as it feels like he’s just saying the pc thing to say to cover up his own attitude of entitlement.

  31. I lol’d when Brundle was looking for Hamilton and there was a quick shot of him nearly running from parc ferme. So does he get a fine for skipping out on the interview or what?

    He really handles traditional media so poorly. Although I admit I think sticking a microphone in drivers’ faces while they’re undoing their safety belts is a bit crass. I’d prefer if they dropped that practice and instead mic’d up the cooldown room a bit better for the candid inter-driver talk.

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