“I didn’t see any debris” - Lewis Hamilton hints at cause of F1 Qatar Grand Prix puncture

Lewis Hamilton has suggested the puncture he sustained during the F1 Qatar Grand Prix wasn’t due to debris.

Hamilton picked up a puncture on Lap 35 of the race at the Lusail International Circuit.

The seven-time world champion was one of two drivers to pick up a puncture, which initially was thought to be due to the debris scattered across the track.

Alex Albon’s wing mirror had come loose and was ejected onto the track.

Several laps later, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas ran over it, meaning there was debris across the start-finish straight.

Hamilton and Sainz picked up punctures soon after, with the Safety Car later being deployed.

Speaking after the race in Qatar, where Crash.net are present in the paddock, Hamilton hinted his puncture might have been due to the severe amount of understeer he was facing.

“With the under balancing, you didn't get the wing set properly,” Hamilton said. “It's happened many times. Just basically not having enough front wing in the car. And the car just wouldn't turn.

“So it was understeering massively for a long period of time. And I think that's honestly for me felt like that's what led to the tyre failure, but maybe it was, I didn't see any debris. It happened just as the pit lane entry…”

It was a disastrous race for Hamilton, with the opening lap severely compromised by a false start.

He picked up a five-second time penalty as a result.

“That was me at the start and then puncture was really unfortunate. But we did our best, I'll get back up tomorrow and give it another shot,” he explained.”

One final F1 race with Mercedes

Hamilton will have one final F1 grand prix with Mercedes before switching to Ferrari for next year.

The 39-year-old has won six of his seven titles with Mercedes.

Hamilton has only driven in Mercedes-powered cars throughout his F1 career, even at McLaren between 2007 and 2012.

Looking ahead to next weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton doubts he will be able to end his time at Mercedes “on a high”.

“I mean I don't think we're going to end on a high,” he added. “And I think what's important is that we turn up and give it our best shot. It's going to be a much better weekend than what we've had in recent years.

“Going in with low hopes and coming out with a better result. There's a pretty big difference either way. I think we're not joking. These last races really don't have an impact on our performance.”