Lewis Hamilton has said he was happy with a positive result for Mercedes at the Saudi Arabian GP despite ruing a missed opportunity which could have put him in position for a podium spot.
Hamilton moved up from seventh on the grid to finish in fifth at the chequered flag, but he was unable to chase down his teammate George Russell, who finished fourth over the line.
However, Russell was subsequently promoted to third after Fernando Alonso was handed a 10-second penalty for failing to serve a pit stop penalty properly, meaning the Aston Martin driver lost what would have been his 100th podium finish in F1.
Hamilton shared over the weekend that he was dissatifised with how the car was driving, and said that despite a more positive race in Jeddah than at the Bahrain GP last time out, he may have had a chance to fight Russell were it not for a key pre-race decision.
“We got some great points as a team, George got third, which is amazing. I went forward which is always the hope is that you could at least go forwards, one foot in front of the other,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
“So I’m really grateful to come through from second to fifth. It just didn’t really work out for me. My setup was a bit off.
“I think if I had the setup that George had, I would have been in a little bit of a better position.
“But yep, there’s a lot to work on, but there are positives to take away from it.”
“50/50 Choice”
Hamilton said that it the setup choice came down to a 50/50 choice that he and Russell differed on, with the young driver’s decision ultimately proving the difference during the race.
“It’s just it was a there was a 50/50 choice. I chose one way, he chose another, and more often than not the way he went was the wrong one.
“But it just happened to be where it was. So, I could only match his pace rather than be quicker this weekend.
“But I work hard to make sure that we’re in a better place.”
