Lewis Hamilton is glad that he was able to finish the race, and to recover a podium finish after a slow start, then colliding with Williams’ Bottas in turn one which then left him down the field in P7, leaving him damage that would hinder his race pace for the entirety of the Grand Prix.
Following team-mate Nico Rosberg’s victory in the desert, Lewis Hamilton reached the chequered flag behind Ferrari’s Raikkonen, leaving Hamilton a 17 point deficit behind his team-mate in the championship standings.
“I think [the bad starts were] two separate incidents, but both equally painful, maybe today a little more painful,” he said. “Nonetheless, we still managed to get up there and get some points, so again damage limitation.
“Congratulations to Nico. It was kind of an easy race for him I would assume, but I’m glad it wasn’t more points, as I could have not finished the race.”
Hamilton stayed out comparatively late before making his third and final stop and admitted Mercedes had pinned its hopes on the appearance of the Safety Car in a bid to overhaul Kimi Räikkönen.
“The team was hoping there was potentially a Safety Car,” he explained. “I had so much damage on the car that I couldn’t keep up with Kimi, I was fighting but the rear end was nowhere.
“I did what I could with it and at the end it was trying to keep the tyres in case I got an opportunity with the Safety Car, but it didn’t come.”
The reigning champion will be working hard to turn the tables on his team-mate next time out in China.
