Hamilton shows hunger after 'kick in the teeth'

Lewis Hamilton showed his "hunger" in fighting back from a Safety Car period at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that was a "kick in the teeth".

The Mercedes driver was demoted to outside the top 10 after pitting shortly before the race was neutralised to retrieve Nyck de Vries' stranded AlphaTauri after the rookie had broken his steering by hitting the apex wall at Turn 5, with Hamilton's rivals afforded a cheap pit stop.

Whilst the top five that Hamilton fought for never came due to his inability to get past Ferrari's Carlos Sainz late on, sixth was fine damage limitation during an event in which overtaking came at a premium.

Explaining his outward frustration over team radio, Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365.com: “There’s so much work that goes into the weekend.

“Saturday was a difficult day where we went backwards and then I was hoping for a better day [in the race] and I lost so many positions... I lost five places.

“That’s definitely a kick in the teeth but then it is what it is. I showed that the hunger is there, and once I get that confidence in the car, the pace will come.”

Beginning of something

On the effect the Safety Car had on his race, Hamilton added: "It wasn't ideal.

"We got caught up in the Safety Car but I couldn't get bogged down in that frustration, I just had to get my head down and focus on attacking. I got my head down and right back in the race and really enjoyed those battles.

"I am really proud of my team. We didn't have the pace we had in the last race, which is obviously not the greatest, but there is no lack of motivation in this team. We are all so hungry and working towards getting those upgrades.

"So I think this is the beginning of something better in the coming races."