Hamilton: My race was over at Turn One

Sunday 12th July 2009

Lewis Hamilton has lamented his disastrous start at the German Grand Prix, saying things were so bad that he was ready to save the gearbox and engine for the future.

Hamilton was quick off his line, going from P5 to P2 after the lights went out. However, that was as good as it got for the defending World Champion. He picked up a puncture after making contact with race winner Mark Webber going into Turn One. He was forced to pit and never recovered.

"My race was effectively over at Turn One," he said. "I had quite a good launch down to Turn One, and I was braking when I felt a tap from the rear and went straight on. I think the flat tyre had damaged the rear floor and it felt like I was out there driving on ice.

"I suggested to the team that we save the engine and gearbox for the future because there's a lot more potential ahead of us than we'd anticipated before this weekend. But that's racing and we'll move on."

McLaren showed marked improvements over the weekend in Germany with Hamilton finishing P1 in one of the practice session. The Brit admits things are looking up for the team after a nightmare season.

"The best thing about this weekend was that our updates were successful," he said. "The team has done a fantastic job over the last few weeks and I'm already looking forward to the next race."

Post to del.icio.us