This is how much time Hamilton lost per lap due to damage after the duel with Verstappen

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was a rollercoaster ride for the Mercedes team. Lewis Hamilton for his lead, stood in the wall, but fought his way back to P2, while Valtteri Bottas crashed in combat with a Williams. Andrew Shovlin looks back on behalf of Mercedes.

On Saturday things were still looking good for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton had taken pole, but with Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen behind him he was in a difficult situation for the race. That race only got trickier after a rocket start from Verstappen and Hamilton damaged part of his front wing trying to stay alongside Verstappen at the first corner.

Hamilton suffers damage

Hamilton lost a lot after that duel in the first corner, and that was partly explained by the loose part. ''In the beginning the loss was quite big, because the part was sticking. Then we lost about six tenths per lap. When the part fell off it was half of that. Until the red flag Hamilton lost about two to three tenths per lap'', says Shovlin in a video by Mercedes.

After the red flag, Hamilton was able to start his overtaking race with a new front wing, and eventually found himself back on P2. A handsome performance, especially considering his teammate couldn't get a car past him earlier in the race and was even taken under fire by a Williams. Shovlin explains what was more difficult for Bottas.

Bad luck for Bottas

''Valtteri was struggling to get close to other cars on the intermediates. He couldn't get his tyres up to the right temperature, and when he got close to the car in front of him he lost too much downforce at the front. So he couldn't follow short enough to overtake a car in front of him.''

The question then, however, is why did Hamilton manage to pass a whole string of cars? ''During the period on intermediates there was no DRS either, and there was for Lewis. That makes it easier to overtake a car in front of you. Valtteri's biggest problem, though, was the balance of the car and the understeer he got when he was close behind another car,'' Shovlin concludes.