Lewis Hamilton adopts Mercedes strategy when Max Verstappen takes over the championship lead at the Dutch GP

TThen, after a warning from race engineer Peter Bonnington that his tires could run out of air in the closing stages, Hamilton snapped: “I am pushing to close this gap.” [to ­Verstappen], Man. Come on.”

In the press conference after the race, Hamilton said: “Today we had to do everything perfectly to have the slightest chance of getting past Max. Our pit stops had to be right, our strategy had to be right, and so had the traffic, but none of these three were ideal. “

Hamilton found an unlikely ally in the paddock last night, with Nico Rosberg deeply criticizing his former team’s decisions. The 2016 World Champion said: “It could have been a closer fight, but the way Mercedes did it today, there was no chance. It was a big, big mistake.

“This year we didn’t see their usual high strategy. Something is going on and there will be serious discussions tonight. What I also found very bad were Bonnington’s comments on Lewis. They were mutilated and not clear. Should he push or not push? What has he done? That was below average from Bono. “

Hamilton was also forced to chase the fastest lap on the final lap after teammate Valtteri Bottas, who was due to be replaced by Briton George Russell in 2022, resisted an instruction not to beat Hamilton’s all-time fastest time.