The Saudi Arabian GP it will be remembered as one of the most exciting and spectacular events in the history of Formula 1, thanks to the various decisions of the Race Direction and the maneuvers carried out on the track that have aroused an infinity of controversy among the fans. However, regardless of these aspects, one of the technically ‘inexplicable’ elements that occurred during the tender concerned thefront wing of Lewis Hamilton. On two occasions, in fact, the Englishman came into contact with two different drivers, in more or less fortuitous circumstances. Yet despite this, The Hammer he also managed to establish himself as the first winner on the Jeddah circuit, astonishing the competition for the resistance of the aileron and for the not excessively evident impact on performance – so much so as to allow him to record the fastest lap – as well as for a good dose of luck .
The first episode occurred at the second start after the exposure of the red flag: in that case, thanks to a maneuver of applause by Verstappen inside, Hamilton widened to make room for the Dutch, but going to hit Esteban Ocon, placed on the outside of the curve. In this way, the Englishman touched the Alpine with his wing, while still managing to continue without having to return to the pits: “It was going up and down – analyzed the Technical Director of Mercedes Andrew Shovlin – in the ‘sandwich’ with Esteban, who passed over his wing. We initially lost a tenth or two per lap. We were quite lucky that it bounced off a few pieces after hitting the asphalt, but without further damage ”.
Even more sensational, however, is the episode that took place on lap 37: after the wheel-to-wheel duel with Verstappen – then penalized by 5 seconds – the Dutch Red Bull slowed down close to the last corner to make room for Hamilton, in an attempt to give him his leadership. However, the maneuver resulted in a collision of the Englishman, who, incredibly, continued the rest of the race with other damages caused by the impact, added to the previous ones found with Ocon: “After contact with Max – Shovlin added – we lost approx 4 tenths per turn. Lewis has been a lot determined to continue in those conditions. We weren’t sure that the wing could hold out until the end, even if, at that moment, we also saw other riders struggling with the tires, and therefore not at full speed. Lewis made the decision not to pit as he could not see the state of his wing from the cockpit. If he had been in front of the TV, like us, he would have reflected on the choice ”.
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