Hamilton Faces Challenges as Russell Secures Victory in Austrian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place in the Austrian Grand Prix, while his Mercedes teammate George Russell claimed victory. The Mercedes team revealed that the damage to Hamilton’s Formula 1 car floor during the race equated to a loss of “two and a half tenths” per lap. Hamilton had a good start and overtook Carlos Sainz, but concerns about a penalty for going off track at turn 1 led to instructions to give back the position. Hamilton received a five-second penalty for crossing the pit entry line due to a moment of oversteer, resulting in him finishing 23 seconds behind Russell. However, the performance difference between the two Mercedes drivers was due to the damage to the bottom of Hamilton’s car, which affected his lap times. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff acknowledged that it was a tough day for Hamilton and highlighted the severity of the penalty for giving back the position. He also mentioned the extensive damage to the floor caused by going over the kerbs, which cost Hamilton about two and a half tenths of a second in certain parts of the track. Hamilton admitted that he was uncertain about when he suffered the damage that hindered his pursuit of Sainz. He also stated that he had not yet seen the footage of the incident that resulted in the time drop. Despite Mercedes’ first victory since November 2022, Hamilton expressed that the result did not significantly change things for him personally, but acknowledged Russell’s excellent performance and considered it a significant achievement for both his teammate and the team.