Hamilton: “A good weekend compared to what I’ve had”

2011 Korean Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Korea, 2011

Lewis Hamilton said he was satisfied with second place in the Korean Grand Prix.

Speaking in press conference after the race he said: “It was OK, it wasn’t too bad. Mark drove really well through the race and congratulations to Sebastian.

“They were massively quick throughout the weekend, particularly in the race. It was impossible to be able to catch Sebastian and overtake.

“And then later on in the race I just really struggled. I had pretty much full lock on everywhere and struggling with a lot of understeer.

“But nonetheless it’s a good weekend for me compared to what I’ve had in the past so I’m happy.”

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    Keith Collantine
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    39 comments on “Hamilton: “A good weekend compared to what I’ve had””

    1. i think lewis can and should be happy. it was a great weekend. quick on friday, pole on saturday then pushed his car to its best at the race. good and fair racing webber. of course he needs a trend of solid results to be fully back. this is the way to start. you have to assume vettel was on a league of his own

      1. I think he was happy. Just not “whooping” like Vettel, as Withmarsh calls it. And he did fall back from pole.

    2. You have to said it’s good considering pole and P2. but I’m sure he expected more than that.

    3. You win some you lose some in life,Lewis drove brilliantly on both the attacking & defensive aspects of the weekend.Its been a while since he’s drove start to finish without any incidents(since Valencia).From a McLaren fan POV,Its great to see that & hopefully he can pick up another win or two in the remaining 3 races.

      1. His defensive rearguard was stunning, holding off Webber for 30 odd laps with DRS to defend.

    4. “I didn’t get called up, did I?” Good humour from Lewis post race, and his best performance in ages, hopefully he can build on this.

    5. Lewis set his fastest lap at penultimate lap is a big positive and a sign that he looked after his tyres well this race. Also great defensive driving for like 20-22 laps and than attacking immediately when getting past by Webber on two occasions.
      A win would have been great for Lewis but RBR was just too quick today and also he was suffering some understeer mainly because of lack of mileage. He at least beat one RBR and in form Button.

      1. RB didn’t beat Hamilton, just Vettel

        1. Webbers RB (the best car on the grid) didn’t beat MM, just Hamilton.

          1. That just doesn’t make sense…

            What does MM stand for? Micro management?
            And Webber obviously didn’t beat Hamilton as he would have been 2nd if he had…

            Also, the best car on the grid wasn’t the best car on the grid yesterday. But off course you probably think Hamilton is in fact 5 tenths quicker than anybody else…

            1. MM = McLaren Mercedes

            2. Makes perfect sense and I agree. Vettel beat Lewis and they both drove their cars to the maximum possible throughout.
              The suggestion is Webber should do better but can’t against the likes of Lewis even in an inferior machine.

            3. I know what Rick was trying to say but the way he said it made it look like Webber didn’t beat McLaren, he only beat Hamilton. I assume he meant Button.

          2. Wasn’t all the commentary for the last two GPs that the RBs were coming back to the field and there was a resurgent MM? I’m happy that WEB didn’t get past HAM because HAM would probably have taken them both out of the race (only a moderate joke). BUT does play the percentage game well though. And since when did WEB have the best car on the grid?

            1. since australia!

            2. Maybe not for Japan, but definitely this race he did, proved by Vettel and that Webber was clearly faster than Button and Hamilton.

            3. Come on guys, don’t be blinded the Mclaren were the best car in qualifying (with a compromised race set-up) and the RBRs on race pace an interesting flip to hwat we are used too, but it is a fact.

              Mclaren seemed to have a additional problem, front wing, in the race as confirmed by Martin Whitmarsh. P2 and 4 was a bloody good result for them.

    6. watching him defend so well reminded me of the lewis of old, he should be pleased today

    7. Solid performance from Hamilton, was good to see some wheel to wheel racing that didn’t end in tears. Good pace as well, though Red Bull (well…Vettel) seemed to be some way away.

    8. Yinka Babs (@)
      16th October 2011, 10:58

      2nd place finish isn’t bad after that battle with Webber.
      I just wish he was in thesame car with vettel.

    9. I thought Lewis drove brilliantly today. Vettel was not completely in a league of his own. Remember Hamilton was only a couple of seconds behind Vettel until having to defend against Webber – this was what allowed Vettel to build such a lead.

      1. Hamilton did well today, but I don’t agree Vettel’s lead was caused by Hamilton having to defend. The Vettel Red Bull combination was just faster than the Hamilton Mclaren combo. It seemed that the Mclaren was slow at the start of the race for some reason. Both Lewis and Jenson had a bad first lap or two where they were losing places. After the race both were complaining of exactly the same problem. Both said they had massive understeer.
        Presumably if they had worked out a slightly better setup the race would have been much more competitive.

        1. Both McLarens did seem slow in the first lap or so. Difficult to tell if Hamilton failed to close the door to Vettel or was simply being cautious by giving him the room to make the move. Kind of suspect the latter.

          1. Hamilton couldn’t block the door because of the newly clarified one block move.

            1. Yes he could. The requirement to leave room for the other driver only applies if you’ve already moved offline to defend and are returning back towards the racing line. As has been the case for years.

    10. Well done Louis!!!!

    11. This was a good weekend overall, not just compared to what he’s experienced lately.

      1. @Fixy True. 2nd place is rarely a bad thing!

        1. @AndrewTanner plus complete domination of qualifying and good in free practice as well.

    12. I’m happy that WEB didn’t get past HAM because HAM would probably have taken them both out of the race (only a moderate joke)

      An interesting statistic – Lewis has never taken out any car that is attempting to overtake him (i may be wrong, but don’t think so) – And Kobayashi incident in Spa cannot count as he was unsighted, rather than attempting to stop Koba going round the outside. This is more that can be said for the likes of Massa, Webber and even Vettel.

    13. His lost of performance was due to a unknown lack of downforce. How much more bad luck he can have this year?

    14. A solid result from Hamilton, keep them coming!

      As far as his attitude goes, he’s been completely perfect this weekend.

    15. It seems Lewis did have a problem with the car, otherwise he could have hauled Vettel back; as confirmed by Martin Whitmarsh –

      “The data showed that he was losing a significant amount of downforce from his front wing. After the race we inspected (it) and discovered that the left-hand slot-gap had become filled with congealed tyre rubber. As a result he was suffering from masses of understeer, which further hurts the tyres”

    16. Seems Hamilton not happy at all, he feels Maclaren Bos Martin Whitmarsh was supporting his Golden boy Button

    17. Great weekend for Lewis…..breaking the run of pole positions taken by the drink company, and having a very exciting and spirited duel with Mark for second place. I’m still amazed how some members of the media will go out of their way, and look for anything to criticize Hamilton with. Steve Matchett here in the states a commentator for Speed, was very critical of Lewis because he asked the team, ” don’t talk to me while I’m racing, ” and Matchett response was….” Hamilton again being frustrated with his team ” , as if that’s the first time that he has heard such a request being made by a driver. Raikkonen at Australia in 2008 comes immediately to mind, and not a peep from Matchett, probably just laughter, and Noooo being frustrated with the team. Another incident whereas Matchett IMO really went off the charts, is when Lewis radioed the team to only ask, did they put in extra front wing…that’s all…extra front wing! Matchet response was, ” But I tell you what guys, and I still have a great sense that Hamilton is just not happy with his team at all, and his radio transmissions are very short and curt….he’s not jelling with his team, and just not with this team any longer. ”

      This is the type on nonsense that Lewis has contantly too endure.

    18. ok Lewis did a great job, well done. No collisions, respectful driving and excellent defense. Both Webber and Hamilton did great. And again he showed respect to his opponents on track. Which is what’s required if he wants to get anywhere.

      Regarding why he may not have looked very satisfied, well who knows…could be something personal…., but if it is team related (as some have mentioned) then that is tough luck. At the moment, Button really needs to solidify his 2nd position in the championship because he is under threat from Alonso. However, I think Hamilton has always had excellent support from the team… but what goes around comes around…

    19. This is a race probably we see Lewis grow up,he raced with Mark just the way a true & good racing driver should,harsh but fair.I hope he carries this momentum in the next 3 races & into 2012 F1 season.

    20. What a wonderful defense from Lewis, it was an epic battle between him and Max, who was desesperated behind the english guy. I am happy to see that Lewis is recovering from the personal crisis he is suffering. For me he was the driver of the day.

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