Lewis Hamilton says he understood Charles Leclerc’s furious reaction to the crash which put him out of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver berated himself on the radio after hitting the barrier at turn eight, saying: “I’m stupid, I’m stupid, I’m stupid.” He later remarked on social media he’d “been useless”.Hamilton said his rival’s reaction was understandable. “I’d be the same,” he said. “That’s how we’re tuned as racing drivers. When it’s your mistake, we’re tough on ourselves.
“I think probably when you’re younger as opposed to being older you’re maybe a little bit less [severe] when you’re older. But still, it’s painful. There’s a lot of pressure around a track like this, on his young shoulders, so it’s totally normal.
“Years and years ago I didn’t come out of my room for two or three days when I had some experience like that, so I totally understand how he feels. It’s cool that he’s open about it, because he can get it out and move forwards tomorrow.”
Sebastian Vettel said his team mate’s response to the crash was “normal”.
“If you do a mistake, you’re not happy about it. Being critical I think is also the reason why he’s here, why we’re here.
“I don’t think anybody of us enjoys that part of our racing life, but every now and then it’s part of it, so. The weekend isn’t over yet, I think we have a good car, and I’m sure we can recover as a team tomorrow.”
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HansieSlim (@)
28th April 2019, 8:59
Why only refer to Hamilton in the headline? Vettel had the same thing to say….
d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
28th April 2019, 9:32
Its not about the message, but who said it. I bet half the grid would have made this trivial comment.
HansieSlim (@)
28th April 2019, 9:52
If you read the article, you will notice that the gist of it explains an important mindset or personality trait of a racer – that drive to be the best coupled with being self critical if they make a mistake. This also comes across as being passionate about winning and being a racer.
That was both the gist of what Hamilton and Vettel were saying. It is most certainly not a trivial comment because the best racers in the world all have this trait in abundance. Look at Senna, Schumacher, Alonso etc.
The inference to be drawn from the article is thus that Lecrlerc has the same passion to win and to do his best as the best racing drivers like Vettel and Hamilton.
d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
28th April 2019, 10:32
Maybe you got the trivial wrong. For sure its an important mindset for every racer, not just for those who succeed, but it is so obvious, at least to me, that pointing it out makes it a trivial comment.
F1oSaurus (@)
28th April 2019, 9:40
@hansieslim Did he though? Bottas and Vettel didn’t say much about it. What Vettel said is actually mentioned in the article.
Besides, Vettel’s blunders never seem to affect him much. He just shrugs them off as a “small mistake” (Germany 2018 crashing into the wall while leading the race, handing victory to Hamilton who was in P4 at the time). So in fact he doesn’t really react the same like Leclerc.
HansieSlim (@)
28th April 2019, 9:57
See my comment to d0senbrot.
So far as your comment about Vettel is concerned, I guess we watch broadcasts of two separate but parallel F1 championships because Vettel is often self critical of himself and upset when he makes mistakes.
F1oSaurus (@)
28th April 2019, 10:43
@hansieslim Yes Vettel is critical, but at the level of “it’s a small mistake”. While Leclerc and Hamilton appear to see it more as an “end of the world” scenario if they make a mistake.
Pjotr (@pietkoster)
28th April 2019, 9:40
Leclerc was saying what everybody was thinking at that moment.
HansieSlim (@)
28th April 2019, 9:58
Exactly and it is so nice to hear or see some passion as opposed to the normal PR/corporate responses.
F1oSaurus (@)
28th April 2019, 10:47
@hansieslim Yes like Vettel who clearly Vettel dropped the ball in Q3 and comes out with his plethora of “ok perhaps I could have done better, but they were probably faster anyway” lines.
Vettel really should have had pole. He didn’t go for the tow and that alone cost him his chance for pole. Plus he didn’t get the car under control properly.
Vettel knows he messed up in Q3, but is he self critical up to the point like Leclerc is? No, not at all. He just shrugs it off.
f1bobby
28th April 2019, 11:05
He’ll be “shrugging off” another failed title bid come the end of the season.
HansieSlim (@)
28th April 2019, 12:10
I think you may have missed the dummy that Mercedes played in forcing Ferrari and Vettel in having to run without the benefit of a slipstream………….
Didi
28th April 2019, 12:31
I’m sure Kubica was also kicking himself! It just proves that corner can catch out noobs like Lec and greats like Robert.