Lewis Hamilton admits he felt he could have challenged for the win in the latter stages of the Russian Grand Prix, but a water pressure issue prevented that from happening.
The Briton started from tenth place on the grid after an ERS issue in Q2 and managed to get a decent getaway off the line. Going into Turn 2, he managed to avoid contact and dashed up to fifth.
Afterwards, he worked his way up through the top running group during the race to eventually cross the line in second place, behind his teammate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton believes he had a good pace throughout the race but admits that the water pressure issue made the latter stages of the race very challenging.
“Firstly, I would like to that the guys who came together to get the new parts over here from the factory last night – and then to the mechanics who worked all through the night to get everything prepared for me to go out there and race today. The guys on my side of the garage are having a really hard time of it at the moment – but I have every faith and confidence in them.
”The first corner was pretty hectic. I don’t know what happened – but I saw something happening in the corner of my eye and just thought “I’m not getting caught again!” I managed to get out of the way and avoid it – but if I’d turned in I would have collected them. It was pure instinct and I’m glad I was able to come out without any contact this time.
”From there I had good pace and I felt like I could challenge for the win – but then there was the water pressure problem which ended that chance. It was tough to hang on at the end but I handled it as best I could. I had to really nurse the car home and I’m just relieved to have made it to the flag after how this weekend has been.”
After the Russian Grand Prix, Hamilton has fallen another seven points adrift to Nico Rosberg, who now leads the Drivers’ Championship by 43 points.
