Lewis Hamilton during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Photo: Race Pictures

Norris under fire for missing chance, Hamilton swap mix-up stirs debate

08:44, 22 Sep

byTobia Elia

Here’s how the British media reacted to George Russell’s podium in Baku, another disappointing result for Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris' missed chance.

Lewis Hamilton

The Telegraph

The Telegraph focused on the misunderstanding between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the end of the race, with the Briton lifting off too late on the straight and ultimately failing to follow the order to let his team-mate through.

“Lewis Hamilton said a ‘misjudgment’ was behind his failure to allow Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc back past him on the final lap in Baku despite being ordered to do so by his pitwall.

“Hamilton, who has had a difficult first season with the Scuderia, finished Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in eighth place, one ahead of Leclerc in ninth. But it emerged after the race that the 40-year-old’s race engineer, Riccardo Adami, had ordered him to let Leclerc by on the final lap. Hamilton did slow on the line, but it was too late for Leclerc to pass.

“The switch was meant to be payback for Leclerc letting Hamilton past him earlier in the race. The pair ran different strategies, with Hamilton pitting onto the medium tyre compound later in the race, and the team swapping the running order in the hope the Briton would be able to overtake cars ahead of them.”

BBC

The BBC highlighted George Russell’s impressive performance in Sunday’s race, as he managed to secure a podium—his sixth of the season—despite experiencing various physical issues over the weekend and not being in peak condition

“Russell, who has been poorly all weekend, drove an outstanding race to jump ahead of his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who led him in the first stint, with his different strategy of running long on the hard tyres before switching to the mediums.”

And about Hamilton: “Ferrari ordered Leclerc to let the seven-time champion by in the closing stages because Hamilton had much fresher tyres, while Hadjar took the final point for Racing Bulls.

“Hamilton was asked to return the favour on the last lap because he had not made any progress. But he misjudged it, in the context of a late request from his engineer, and although he braked on the straight, he crossed the line 0.4secs ahead of Leclerc.

“Hamilton apologised afterwards, but Leclerc said he didn't care about eighth or ninth place, that the bigger concern was Ferrari's lack of pace.”

The Sun

The Sun, on the other hand, highlighted how Lando Norris wasted a great opportunity to gain significant points on his team-mate, who made his first major mistake of the season but ultimately faced limited consequences, with the Briton finishing seventh.

“The normally unflappable Aussie simply locked up and headed straight into the barrier all by himself at Turn 5. It ended a whopping 34-race streak of finishing races, but Lando Norris failed to capitalise on his team-mate’s blunder as he finished in seventh and suffered another slow pit stop.

“It means the British 24-year-old ate into Piastri’s lead in the title race by a meagre six points. Norris suffered another slow pit stop for the second weekend in a row at 4.1 seconds, meaning he failed to undercut Leclerc and Lawson.”

How did international media react to the Azerbaijan GP?

The international press devoted extensive coverage not only to Max Verstappen’s impressive victory, which capped an almost perfect weekend, but also to Carlos Sainz’s first podium with Williams, managing to reach the podium this season ahead of Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari.