Hamilton questioned Ferrari's slow response to Safety Car: 'Was no one watching'

Around the halfway point of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with 20 laps to go, Albon's crash into the wall at Turn 5 led to a Safety Car after yellow flags were initially waved.

At that point, Hamilton was heading down the long start-finish straight and waiting for a response from Ferrari. Over the team radio, the seven-time F1 world champion said the following after his race engineer, Carlo Santi, told him about the Safety Car: "Yeah, just passed the pit lane. Have you seen something like a crash? Like, what? Is there an incident?"

"Double yellow, double yellow 4-5. Albon in the wall, double yellow 4-5," Santi then responded to the driver.

"OK… was no one watching that happen?" Hamilton added, going back to why he was not immediately called into the pit lane.

Santi then asked Hamilton which tyres he wanted to fit and assured the Briton that he would not lose any positions by pitting a lap later.

In the end, no one gained or missed out because of the Safety Car, as the entire grid decided to complete its mandatory pit stop. Hamilton eventually crossed the finish line in sixth place last Saturday, and he is now 103 points behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli in the drivers' standings.

During the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, the Ferrari driver did not mince his words about circuit designers. The seven-time world champion found it difficult to understand how certain tracks with no overtaking opportunities could be created.

He said: "They are making some of these tracks where you just cannot overtake. And it's frustrating.

"I don't know who is designing them, but out,"the seven-time Formula 1 champion added while also making the same gesture with his hand," Hamilton added.

The Briton also asked, "Like, anyone else here want to design a track?" The crowd responded with a roar in Baku. Hamilton then added: "Yeah, I am pretty certain there's lots of people here that would just be able to do a better job, with some of the ones coming up!"