Hamilton hits out at ‘awkward boos’, wanted different tyre strategy

The seven-time world champion was forced to settle for runner-up spot behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the second weekend on the trot as his wait for a first win of the season continued in Mexico. 

Hamilton beat home hero Sergio Perez to second and was heard being jeered by sections of the crowd during his post-race interview. 

• Mexico City GP: Verstappen beats Hamilton to claim record 14th win
• F1 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix - Full Race results

“This has been an amazing crowd,” Hamilton said. “Definitely a bit awkward this time around, boos all day.

“Nevertheless, I have so much love for Mexico and the people here. What a great race and event they’ve put on this weekend.”

Hamilton started on the medium tyre as Mercedes gambled on a different strategy to Red Bull in their bid to end their winless drought, but it failed to pay off when a switch to hards didn’t work out. 

Both Hamilton and Mercedes teammate George Russell were unhappy with their hard tyres in the second stint, with Verstappen and Perez going soft-to-medium. 

The Briton revealed he wanted to start the race on softs, matching the strategy of Verstappen and Perez. 

“I was so close in that first stint,” Hamilton explained. “I think Red Bull was too fast today, I think ultimately they had the better tyre strategy.

"I’m not sure it was the right tyre in the end. I thought we should’ve started on the Softs, we had the opposite tyre. It was OK in the first stint, but that Hard tyre was just an offset.

“Congratulations to Max, it’s great to be up here separating the two [Red Bull cars].”