Hamilton defends Mercedes pit-stop at end of Brazilian GP

Lewis Hamilton took a surprise pit-stop after the two Ferrari drivers collided. At the time, it pushed him off the podium. He fought hard to get back into the podium places, but the stewards deemed contact with Alex Albon worthy enough of a penalty which pushed the F1 world champion back to seventh. 

Without the pit-stop, Hamilton would have had a one-on-one fight with race winner Max Verstappen. It seems as if Mercedes made the wrong choice but the British driver stands up for his team. 

“The team did very well with the strategy. It was not their decision at the end. It was rather an opportunity that they offered me. I thought I could take the chance and that losing a place on the track wouldn't be so bad. I could catch up on Albon again. Obviously, that was not how things went," Hamilton told the press after the Brazilian Grand Prix. 

Meanwhile, his teammate Valtteri Bottas recorded his first DNF since the chaotic 2019 German Grand Prix. It wasn't a good weekend for Mercedes who were without Toto Wolff for the first time since 2013.