Lewis Hamilton bemoans FIA and young F1 drivers over wet-weather caution

Lewis Hamilton feels F1's current wet-weather approach is overly cautious, pointing the finger at both FIA race control and the younger generation of drivers.

Hamilton finished third in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, climbing from 18th early on after starting on slicks to the podium behind race winner Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.

Heavy rain before the race began triggered a 40-minute delay. The event eventually commenced behind the safety car for what was meant to be two formation laps, and a possible standing start.

That did not materialise, however, due to a software 'bug that infected several systems, including that of Hamilton in his Ferrari. He had to stop on track, and reboot the SF-26 to get going again.

Hamilton, who started that race on the front row alongside polesitter Verstappen, said he had been relishing the prospect of wheel-to-wheel battles in the rain, only to see the opportunity disappear.

"I was looking forward to a wet race," said Hamilton, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365. "When it started raining, I was like, 'Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.

"We did the laps to the grid, and there was obviously a lot of spray, and then with all the delay and everything like that, ultimately I didn't get to have that battle that I wanted to have with Max, which I was excited about, and Kimi."

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The seven-time F1 champion, who has spoken previously about his affection for driving in treacherous conditions, drew a direct comparison with his early career, when Bridgestone's rain tyres were developed through far greater on-track mileage than today's Pirelli compounds.

"Wet weather races aren't the same as we used to have," Hamilton said. "I've had great races in the rain, like 2008 [his British GP victory]. Ultimately, we had more testing back then.

"We had better tyres for the rain because we were able to...I guess they were developed more with Bridgestone back in the day.

"And I love racing in the rain, personally."

Taking umbrage with some of the decisions that are made when it comes to racing in the wet, Hamilton added: "I do think the guys running the show [in FIA race control] are more and more and more cautious, but then again, the young drivers coming in are more and more cautious.

"Us old-school drivers are like, 'Let's get racing', and the youngsters are like, 'Let's not race'.

"So they [FIA race control] are getting two different bits of information, and they are super cautious as well.

"Whereas I'm like, 'Let's get going' under extreme conditions, because that's where we really get to test ourselves.

"Is it more risky? Absolutely. When I was on the slick tyre [in Malaysia], it was the trickiest conditions. It's wet, and I'm on slicks. But I love that challenge, and that's what racing is, where you have to drive by the seat of your pants.

"That's really where you can make the difference, and ultimately, that is where I did make the difference at the end of the day."