We may all remember Lewis Hamilton's unfortunate qualifying on Saturday. The seven-time world champion was eliminated in Q1, but in the race he fought his way back from the back of the pack to fourth place.
Although the team's pre-race simulations indicated that the maximum would have been a sixth place, Hamilton denied this, and according to his (former) boss, if he hadn't had such bad luck during qualifying, he could also have achieved victory:
“I always try to look at events impartially, with an analytical eye, and in my opinion, if that buoy hadn't unfortunately crossed his path and closed out the standings later on, Lewis would have been fighting for the win. However, this leaves no mark on me, as we've achieved so many victories and successes together that what happened now, or what didn't happen, no longer influences our relationship.
But you have to give him what's due: He competed as a world champion in Abu Dhabi. He started from 16th place and patiently, tactically, climbed to fourth place, finishing ahead of the Red Bulls. This is a world champion performance in my opinion, no doubt about it!" - he praised his driver Toto Wolff for the final time as team principal.
