Lewis Hamilton had a tricky time of it in Barcelona, finishing four places behind his team mate despite starting ahead of Charles Leclerc. While his seventh-place finish was upgraded to sixth following Max Verstappen’s penalty, it was still a far cry from what he had hoped for.
After qualifying fifth on Saturday, Hamilton had high hopes of challenging Verstappen and George Russell for the final podium spot, having yet to finish on the rostrum in a Grand Prix this season. Overtaking Russell off the line only raised hopes that a podium was possible – but then Hamilton’s race unravelled.
He did not have as much pace as his team mate who was hot on his tail, with the team opting to swap their drivers as early as Lap 10 – albeit that they were on differing strategies.
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He then dropped back behind Russell through the pit stop periods, on what was a difficult afternoon.
