Lewis Hamilton was angry with his team after the Turkish Grand Prix. The Briton was third for most of the race, but his team forced him to retire in the closing stages. Mark Hughes can understand the decision.
The journalist points out that Hamilton had to watch out for the drivers behind him due to his worn tyres. "He’d drop behind Perez and Leclerc if he stopped," the journalist writes for The Race. "But he was set to be devoured by Perez anyway and Gasly – just over a pitstop distance behind and on fresh tyres – was lapping up to 2s faster than the Mercedes, with Norris just behind going faster still."
Hughes saw that Hamilton clearly did not understand his team's decision. "Mercedes brought Hamilton in on the 50th lap before the AlphaTauri and McLaren would have made it worse. He was dismayed as he realised he’d dropped two places and was uncomprehending about the logic in the moment."
Battle in World Championship between Verstappen and Hamilton
Hamilton's fifth place meant he lost the lead in the world championship once again. The gap on competitor Max Verstappen is currently six points.