Hamilton on fighting back: "I didn't give up which is what we do"

Lewis Hamilton wondered at the start of the race whether or not it was worth retiring to save their new engine. In the end, Hamilton stayed on the track and worked his way up to P4. Hamilton lost a place at the end of Sainz, but Hamilton was very happy with the car performance. 

The seven-time World Champion was quick to praise his team back at the factory. Early in the season, the Mercedes car bounced on the straights which cost them a lot of performance and meant they couldn't run their car as low as possible. Hamilton gives his report on the feeling he got inside the cockpit during his post race interview with Sky Sports. 

"We do still have bouncing but not in a straight line, just through the corners. If I hadn't had the issue at the beginning who knows where I'd have been. Just really grateful I was able to come back. Grateful to the team for keeping their head down. Positive feedback coming through, for all the amazing work to getting us this improvement. The car felt great in the race, our pace is closer to the top guys which is amazing," Hamilton said.

Contact at the start

At the start of the race, Hamilton made contact with Kevin Magnussen. This resulted in a puncture for the Britt. Being so far behind, Hamilton even wondered if the better option was to retire. In the interview after the race, Hamilton insisted he didn't give up and gave his thoughts on recovering from what was a "horrible feeling". 

"Unfortunate at the start with the punctures, I didn't give up which is what we do. Gutted to lose a place to Sainz, especially after coming from where I came from. 30 plus seconds, that's no man's land. Horrible feeling being that far behind but you have to keep your head up, keep pushing and keep going," Hamilton added.