The race at the Sepang International Circuit descended into chaos when torrential rain delayed proceedings and left standing water across the track. The tricky conditions immediately triggered trouble during the formation laps, where multiple power units suffered energy management cutouts, including the Ferrari driven by Lewis Hamilton.
Following an extended suspension of over an hour, the circuit began to dry out, prompting Ferrari to gamble by sending both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc out on slick tyres. Meanwhile, polesitter Max Verstappen and the majority of front-runners opted for intermediate rubber. The decision backfired instantly as Lewis Hamilton slipped down to 18th place, trailing early leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes by a massive margin after the opening laps.
"We were having a good weekend," said Lewis Hamilton, reflecting on his strong qualifying pace. "The car felt great in qualifying. It felt amazing to get to second. My engineers and I were here until 11:30 [p.m.] just going over everything, and I really felt it was the opportunity to have at least a good battle with Max."
However, the weather completely altered the dynamic of the afternoon. "But then the rain came, and the big panic with everyone when we all lost power. Particularly, my power didn't come back, and I had to stop on track and restart the car. And then we all ended up in the pit lane," he explained.
The defining moment of anxiety arrived right before the restart. "Anyways, as a team, we ended up taking the soft, and when we were at the end of the pit lane, and these two took off their blankets and they're on inters, my heart sank, and I knew we were in trouble," Lewis Hamilton admitted.
Despite nearly spinning out on the formation lap and losing significant ground early on, Lewis Hamilton trusted the long game. Once the track finally dried, strong strategy and flawless pit work from the garage allowed him to carve through the field and salvage an unexpected third-place finish behind Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
"For us to get back to the podium, I never thought that was going to be the case. I'm really, really grateful that we managed to get back here," he concluded.
Baca Juga
Max Verstappen menyamai rekor 72 kemenangan Michael Schumacher bersama satu tim di Formula 1 usai tampil impresif menguasai jalannya balapan di Sepang.
Analisis mendalam GP Bahrain di Sepang, kemenangan Verstappen, blunder strategi Ferrari, hingga ulasan lengkap dari podcast I Doppiati.
Kimi Antonelli sebut aspal tua Sepang samarkan performa upgrade aerodinamika W17 Mercedes setelah finis kedua di GP Bahrain Malaysia.
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