Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari/4th): “That cost me the battle with Verstappen”

Ferrari made up ground following a disappointing qualifying session: Charles Leclerc moved up from fourth on the grid to second place, and Lewis Hamilton was on the verge of challenging Max Verstappen for third place – but then the chequered flag came down.

Verstappen was candid afterwards: “The virtual safety car phase helped me at one point. Because the Ferraris were faster.”

Lewis Hamilton: “In the first two segments of my race, I wasn’t quick enough; that cost me a podium finish. The car simply wouldn’t turn in the way I need it to.”

“It all started on Friday, when I had the wrong set-up for the first practice session. Then I went in the wrong direction with the set-up in the second practice session. I reverted to the previous set-up, which gave me better speed in the third practice session.”

“I drive the car slightly differently to Charles, including with the wing settings. During the warm-up laps, the car felt good, but when the Grand Prix started, I had too much understeer.”

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“The other drivers pulled away from me, and I paid the price for that in the end. I adjusted the wing on the car at every tyre change, ending up with a total of twelve clicks – that’s a huge amount. Perhaps things would have gone better today if I’d been better prepared in free practice.”

“Towards the end of the race, the pace was good; the car was finally handling well, and I was able to match the lap times of the drivers ahead of me. If I’d had that pace right from the start, I would have made it onto the podium. The VSC phase spoiled things for me a bit and cost me a great battle with Max Verstappen.”

“The decision to go with the medium Pirelli tyres was my own, but looking back, the hard tyres were the better choice for the race today. I also started the Grand Prix on used soft tyres; I got off to a good start, but then I got a bit boxed in.”

“If I can get to grips with the balance issues with the car, I’ll be up there at the front more regularly. We’ve learnt a lot this weekend, which is positive. The team has done a good job.”