Sport
Lewis Hamilton shocked by Mercedes instructions to allow team-mate Rosberg to pass him
Hamilton, who trimmed Rosberg’s championship lead from 14 to 11 points, said: “This is damage limitation. I was just pushing as hard as I could to get as high as I could. “I cannot explain the pain you feel when you have issues such as I have had in last couple of races. It is difficult to swallow, and to come back next day and attack.
“You are pushing way beyond what you would do if you were on pole position. It feels satisfying coming through, and to be ahead and still in the fight is still encouraging.”
Hamilton was seeking to complete a hat-trick of Hungaroring wins with a record fifth at the circuit and had dominated all three free practice sessions before his car burst into flames, caused by a fuel leak, in the opening minutes of Saturday’s qualifying session.
A week earlier in Germany, he crashed in qualifying after suffering a brakes failure at high speed. Rosberg, who started on pole and led the opening nine laps, kept his composure afterwards, but was clearly irritated and said he could have passed Hamilton on the final lap when he had a clear tyres advantage.
“I had a chance on the last lap,” he said. “I’m very annoyed that I wasn’t able to make it happen. Lewis made a mistake, I tried around the outside but it didn’t work out.” Rosberg, however, denied asking Mercedes to request Hamilton to allow him to pass.
Mercedes said it would hold a team inquiry. But Hamilton’s success trimmed Rosberg’s lead in the title race from 14 points to 11. The German now leads with 202, Hamilton has 191 and Ricciardo is third with 131.
Source: AFP
