Hamilton clarifies post-race Bottas and Perez comments
The seven-time F1 world champion lost further ground to title rival Max Verstappen after the Red Bull driver claimed a dominant victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, finishing over 16s clear of Hamilton.
Hamilton now trails Verstappen by 12 points in the world championship with four races remaining.
Following the race, Hamilton said he felt teammate Bottas “left the door open” for Verstappen at the start of the race as the Dutchman swept past both Mercedes drivers to snatch the lead into Turn 1.
In an Instagram post on Monday afternoon, Hamilton wrote: “Yesterday I said VB left the door open and naturally people will jump to criticise.
“We are a team and we win and lose as a team. There is not one single person responsible for winning or losing, we do it together good or bad.
“You may be able to beat us, but you won’t be able to break us.
“Onto the next one Valtteri, let’s keep pushing bro!”
Hamilton also appeared to aim a dig towards Perez following their close battle for the podium places in the closing stages of the 71-lap race.
“I started second and finished second, so I can’t complain,” Hamilton told Sky after the race. “[I] got a really start and I feel like I maximised it with what I had.
“But jeez, their pace, it was just unbelievable today, and there was nothing I could do to battle that. And when you’ve got Checo [Perez] on your tail, then you know the car is quick.”
Hamilton said he wanted to “make sure people don’t read what I was saying wrong yesterday” in his social media update.
“I have a lot of respect for Perez and think he’s doing a great job in his new team,” he continued. “He’s improved so much this season and I know how hard it is to progress with a new team, it takes time.
“My comment was simply that following another car in Mexico is the hardest thing due to the low drag we all have. That’s why there is very little overtaking.
“However, he was able to follow so closely which highlights just how much more downforce they were able to carry. Big up Checo for keeping it clean.”
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
