Lewis Hamilton will be reflecting on an opportunity missed at last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix in his battle for runners-up in the Drivers’ Championship. The seven-time world champion had the opportunity to narrow the gap on second-placed driver Sergio Perez after posting a much quicker qualifying time.
After qualifying third behind world champion Max Verstappen and Mercedes team-mate George Russell, the British driver looked in the perfect opportunity to close the gap to Perez. However, Hamilton tagged the back of Russell’s car on the opening corner ending his race and his team-mate needing to chase back through the field.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has taken a cheeky dig at Hamilton about the mistake. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll received a written warning from the FIA for his behaviour during qualifying in Qatar as the pressure told, as the season reaches its conclusion.
Despite Red Bull having the quickest car on the grid Perez only picked up a single point in Qatar finishing in 10th position, while team-mate Verstappen won by four seconds. Perez’s failure to capitalise on Hamilton’s mistake means his gap in second is just 30 points with just five rounds remaining – starting with next weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
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