Kimi Raikkonen insisted he hadn’t been trying to make a point when he forced Ferrari to spell out its team orders to let Sebastian Vettel pass him for the lead during the German Grand Prix.
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However, Hamilton was then summoned to speak to stewards to explain a move late in the race.
“What an unbelievably dark day for Sebastian”, Rosberg said.
“The rain has come down and washed away all the negativity and its a glorious day”, Hamilton said. I kept pushing, kept believing and it happens.
Ferrari made the call to pit Raikkonen for a fresh set of ultrasofts during the safety vehicle that followed Vettel’s accident.
The British driver is now 17 points clear of Vettel, who was left to rue his costly accident in the closing stages of the dramatic rain-hit race at Hockenheim.
Despite falling down to last place he managed to recover and finish in an impressive second place but still trailed behind Vettel who sits top of the Formula One standings. He kicked the gravel in frustration as he stepped out of his auto.
“I saw there was leaking oil and I knew that I had to stop and let the marshals put the vehicle away somewhere”.
Vettel was furious after making a mistake in the slippery conditions.
“I braked just a tiny bit too late for the corner, locked the front tyres and then the rear ones, so that I couldn’t turn the vehicle anymore”.
“I am sure for the team there were questions and discussions at lunch”, Hamilton continued. Vettel’s lead in the standings was slated to grow from eight points to 21 points. Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen were running in second and third place, respectively, when Vettel wrecked, so they inherited first and second, respectively, as a result of the wreck.
He pummelled the steering wheel angrily after the vehicle crumpled against the tyre wall, the lap 52 incident bringing out the safety auto. “They were shouting “yes, no, come in, don’t come in”. When racing got back underway, Bottas challenged Hamilton for the lead on the run through Turns 7 and 8 before being told to stick with second.
In a decisive moment of the race, the team hesitated, telling the Briton to enter the pits and then they said no.
Ferrari had made a similar call earlier on, at Raikkonen’s expense.
“For those who didn’t know me before, now you do”. “What do you want?”
“We go there and try and do the best that we can and see what we get”. And it was just so positive for me.
He eventually did, ending the Finnish driver’s hopes of a first win since the season-opening Australian GP in 2013.
He said: “What I said to Valtteri is something that I would also say in the team.
It’s great for Mercedes to win at Hockenheim”. I turned the auto off and thought perhaps I can push it back as insane as it sounds. He took pole position and, better still, Hamilton was fifth on the grid. But on lap 42, Hamilton’s rubber was in tatters and he had no option but to stop.
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On Sunday, he spun out while leading a race he controlled, and would likely have won if not for the rain.
