Lewis Hamilton has admitted that Mercedes did not face an easy Formula 1 strategy call under the Safety Car in the Dutch Grand Prix. Hamilton was attempting a one-stop strategy at Zandvoort, chasing his first victory of the season against two-stopping Max Verstappen. He cycled to the lead following Red Bull pitting Verstappen under the Valtteri Bottas-inspired Safety Car with George Russell slotting in behind. However, next time by, Russell demanded Softs for the restart as the cars were ordered through the pitlane, with Hamilton not stopping despite leading the sister Mercedes. Hamilton took the restart on old Mediums, and was subsequently passed by Verstappen, Russell and Leclerc to finish fourth.
Reflective Hamilton on Dutch GP win chance
Post-race, Hamilton was in a reflective mood, but optimistic that the pace Mercedes had shown in the Netherlands could push them onto claim a race victory. "Today wasn't an easy call," the seven-time champion explained to media including RacingNews365.com. "Of course, you could always look back at all the extreme scenarios and say we could or would have made a different choice, but that's not life. It is not for me. "I was hoping to get a podium, I was hopeful to get a first or a second at least, but we move on. "I'm dying to get back in that race and have the opportunity to fight Max, but the day hasn't come [yet]. "I didn't know if they had a gap to do a stop and benefit from it. So I thought it will be at the same time maybe. "My tyres were feeling good. So I would have preferred to have been on just been on a one stop and being on the Hards, that was the better one for me, but then we had to stop."
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