Lewis Hamilton breaks silence with strong verdict after F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix turmoil
Lewis Hamilton has spoken out after the issues at the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
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Lewis Hamilton has praised F1 chiefs for fixing the Las Vegas Grand Prix grid on Friday - instead of criticising them for the chaos in Sin City.
The race in Nevada got off to a chaotic start, with proceedings halted due to an issue with a manhole cover.
Carlos Sainz Jr was one of two drivers to see their cars suffer, with the Ferrari star's vehicle sending out sparks while driving over a drain.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon suffered, too, with organisers then rushing to tend to the track before P2 practice resumed at 10.30am BST.
Lewis Hamilton enjoyed himself despite the turmoil at the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
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Hamilton has now discussed the controversy that plagued the early moments of the race.
And the Stevenage-born racer refused to criticise organisers of the event, instead hailing them for sorting the issues with speed.
“We are travelling at some serious speeds out there,” he told Sky Sports.
“It’s incredibly fast and it’s a lot of fun, I had so much fun today.
“I’m so glad that we did get to run again. Obviously, not great in P1 and what happened, but they did a great job to fix it and yeah an interesting session.”
Hamilton was, initially, near the top of the leaderboard in practice.
However, the seven-time World Champion ended up finishing ninth - 1.398s behind Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton was happy with the way Mercedes performed, insisting he was content with the way his car was performing.
“I think when we are all out on similar tyres we are not too far off,” he added.
“Obviously, everyone is having graining and people running out of tyres but I think everyone is in a similar boat.”
When quizzed about his performance, he continued: “It’s massively challenging, there’s not a lot of, even though they got the long straights there’s not really a lot of places to overtake because the grip is so low and the tow is not huge a bit like Monza when you’re behind people because you’ve got the small wing there’s not a lot of drag.
“So it’s going to be interesting.
"Qualifying I think position will be really important and obviously degradation is going to be key.”
And Hamilton also said he had a 'blast' during his first F1 outing in Las Vegas, adding: “I had a blast and I didn’t really, everyone’s struggling with jet lag and all that stuff and I feel really great.
“I just watched a movie in between the break and I feel great, ready to go again.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff fiercely defended the Las Vegas Grand Prix - insisting it was not a 'black eye' for the sport.
"That is not a 'black eye' – this is nothing," the Austrian raged.
"We are [on] Thursday night, we have a free practice session one that we're not doing.
"They're going to seal the drain covers and nobody's going to talk about that tomorrow morning anymore."
He continued: "It's FP1 – how can you even dare trying to talk bad about an event that sets new standards to everything?
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Lewis Hamilton enjoyed himself in Las Vegas despite controversy marring the start of the Grand Prix
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"You're speaking about a f***ing drain cover that's been undone, that has happened before. That's nothing – it's FP1.
"Give credit to the people that have set up this grand prix, that have made this sport much bigger than it ever was.
"Liberty has done an awesome job and just because in FP1 a drain cover has become undone, we shouldn't be moaning.
"The car is broken – that's really a shame. For Carlos [Sainz], it could have been dangerous.
"So between the FIA and the track and everybody needs to analyse how we can make sure that this is not happening again.
"But talking here about the 'black eye for the sport' on a Thursday evening – nobody watches that in European time anyway."