Hamilton felt no pressure: 'Clear that Max started at the back'

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10:54, 26 Sep 2021

Lewis Hamilton seemed almost assured of pole position during the Russian Grand Prix. Partly due to the weather conditions, the Brit did not get further than P4.

The seven-time World Champion made a painful mistake during qualifying when he smashed his front wing on entering the pit lane. Although Hamilton has not been caught out by these mistakes often in the past, he argued that it has nothing to do with the battle he is having with Max Verstappen this season.

"It's really nothing to do with pressure, honestly. It really wasn't a pressure scenario. It's literally just [that] mistakes do happen," he explained in conversation with Autosport.com. "But it was clear that Max started at the back."

Painful mistake by Hamilton

Due to his disappointing qualifying, Hamilton will start the race from fourth and will try to pass Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and George Russell. However, Hamilton remains confident of a good result. "Yes, of course, embarrassing, [I'm] disappointed in myself that I'd had it, but shit happens. We all make mistakes, and of course it's not what you would expect a world champion to do."

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	219
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	169
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	160
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	138
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	128
6	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	109
7	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	92
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	68
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	43
10	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	42
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	23
12	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
13	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
14	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	10
15	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
16	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
17	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	2
19	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
20	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
21	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
22	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0

Hamilton felt no pressure: 'Clear that Max started at the back'

Painful mistake by Hamilton

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