Hamilton ‘could have’ won were it not for a bug

Editor

Lewis Hamilton believes he could have pit stop battle and the Australian Grand Prix had he been given the right data to cover Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton was robbed of the win Down Under when a software bug meant Mercedes were feeding him the incorrect data.

Having reliquished the lead to Sebastian Vettel when he came in for his pit stop, Hamilton was just under 12 seconds behind Vettel when the Virtual Safety Car came out.

Mercedes had thought that was enough for Hamilton to retake the lead when Vettel pitted but instead, the Brit found himself behind the Ferrari driver on the track.

“They don’t fully understand it still, so they couldn’t give me an exact reason as to why it was the way it was,” said Hamilton. “So, I can’t really say how I feel about it.

“It’s never easy to lose a grand prix but there were so many positives to take from this weekend.

“In the race I had extra tools, I could have been further ahead by the first pit stop.

“There were so many good things we could have done, but if one thing is telling you one thing, and you think you’re doing it to the book, within the limits, then there’s nothing you can do.”

Hamilton was second on the day having opted to back off and save his engine parts for later in the season.