Lewis Hamilton’s association with the Mercedes F1 team will end after 2024 as he joins Ferrari for a new chapter in his racing career.
The British driver’s partnership with the German team has been the most successful in F1 history as they have gone on to win 84 races along with eight consecutive Constructors Championships from 2014 to 2021.
After first joining the Brackley-based outfit in 2013, the 39-year-old was able to win six of his seven Drivers Championships from 2014 to 2020. Despite racking up some incredible numbers during that 12-year tenure, there have been a few instances where the German team’s strategy has cost wins and podiums for Hamilton.
Below is the list of three times that Lewis Hamilton’s race got compromised by Mercedes’s strategy:
#1. Lewis Hamilton’s P3 start at the 2024 Singapore GP
Lewis Hamilton pulled off an amazing qualifying session at the Marina Bay Circuit as he qualified P3 just ahead of his Mercedes teammate George Russell. Amidst his struggles over one lap throughout the 2024 campaign, the Q3 lap was special and put him just a tenth behind Max Verstappen.
However, the race was a different story. He started on the soft tires in the team’s bid to get a position or two off the line. But due to higher temperatures and degradation, the seven-time F1 world champion failed to make an impact in the Singapore Grand Prix and ultimately finished in P6 over 85 seconds behind race winner Lando Norris.
#2. Lost win at the 2023 US Grand Prix
The 2023 season provided minimal opportunities for the rest of the grid to compete for race wins and pole positions as Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominated the season. However, there were a few opportunities when the Austrian team was left off the hook due to some mistakes made by their rivals.
The 2023 edition of the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas was one such occasion as Hamilton was quick throughout the weekend and looked in contention for a race win. But Mercedes decided to race conservatively and covered the two-stop strategy of Lando Norris in P3 and did not go for the bolder one-stop strategy to challenge Verstappen for the race win.
The decision cost Hamilton a chance for a first race win in the new aero regulations as he finished just two seconds behind the Red Bull driver.
#3. 2015 Monaco GP
Lewis Hamilton was visibly frustrated at the end of the 2015 edition of the Monaco Grand Prix after he finished P3 despite starting the race from pole position and dominating the weekend.
The Mercedes F1 team miscalculated the gap and pulled him in for a pitstop during the safety car period late, and lost two positions after he came out of the pits. He remained in P3 while his then-teammate Nico Rosberg took the win for a third year in a row.
