The parity in the world drivers classification between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen was sanctioned by the fastest lap of the hepta-champion in the Saudi Arabian GP which earned him a very precious point. The Black king scored an incredible 1’30 ”734 on lap 47 with the black arrow equipped with hard compound tires, with the front wing battered in a couple of contacts. But how did he do it?
At the restart of the race after the red flag, the right side bulkhead of the front wing of the W12 was damaged against Esteban Ocon’s Alpine. Andrew Shovlin, chief of track engineers at Mercedes, assessed damage via telemetry data at one tenth of a second per lap.
Lewis Hamilton damages the front wing in the restart against Esteban Ocon’s Alpine
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Things got significantly worse when Lewis hit Max Verstappen’s Red Bull after the merciless brake test done on lap 37 in an attempt to return the position to the Englishman, following the order that had come from the race direction.
The side bulkhead that was already damaged was torn apart, no longer guaranteeing support for the additional flaps and the feeling was that a portion of the wing could suddenly detach, possibly creating more damage.
Shovlin explained: “The loss of performance at the beginning was a tenth or a little more, while after the rear the damage was much more substantial and our data showed us a loss of performance of over four tenths”.
“At the beginning we saw a part rub on the asphalt and we were afraid that turning the damage could increase, but then, luckily, the rest did not touch the curbs”.
“Most likely Lewis didn’t realize how broken his front wing was, because he kept pulling to win the race and to get the fastest lap.”
“Lewis was very determined – added Shovlin – and we found ourselves at a crossroads: seeing how she was doing, we didn’t know whether to encourage Hamilton to go in search of the fastest lap or whether to advise him to adopt a more prudent tactic” ..
“In the end it was Lewis who decided and probably that choice may have been aided by the fact that he couldn’t see the actual damage to the front wing, because if he had been watching TV like we did, maybe he could have reconsidered. … “.
Lewis Hamilton with the front wing that has lost aerodynamic efficiency by four tenths, has trimmed teammate Valtteri Bottas something like 674 thousandths. The Finn, in addition to having an intact W12, also had a set of medium tires and, therefore, on paper more performance at least in the flying lap.
And rival Max Verstappen eventually paid a gap of 754 thousandths. Hamilton’s extraordinary lap is as good as the Dutchman’s resounding start at yet another restart: the seven-time world champion continues to amaze with his talent and the ability to extract from his Mercedes all the enormous potential he has available …
Lewis Hamilton with damaged front wing in contact with Verstappen
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
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