Hamilton ignored orders to go for fastest lap

Lewis Hamilton ignored team orders to go for fastest lap at the French GP despite saying earlier this year that he wouldn’t bother with it.

Formula 1 introduced a new point for fastest lap at the start of this season, bringing the tally for extra points up to 21 for the year.

Hamilton, though, said back in March it is not something he would push for.

“I don’t think this is going to be a focus for me through the rest of the year,” the five-time World Champion told Crash.net.

Three months later he’s ignoring instructions for his Mercedes pit wall to go for it.

Although Mercedes told him not to try at the Circuit Paul Ricard given that Sebastian Vettel made a late pit stop for fresh tyres just to get the point, Hamilton still gave it a shot.

He fell short, denied the grand slam by 0.024s.

“Of course I kept going,” Hamilton told Autosport.

“I just think you should never give up, you should never be complacent and think ‘it’s not possible’. An extra point was available.

“Naturally the guys can’t know how I feel in the car, but I felt like I had a little bit left in the tyres, and there was only one more lap.

“I was [thinking], ‘I’m going to go for it man, let’s go for it’.

“Even during the lap they were saying, ‘Don’t worry, he’s got new tyres, there no way you’re going to beat him’.

“As crazy as a driver is, I thought maybe I could get there.

“I didn’t realise I’d be so close – there’s things I could have done to make it happen.

“I don’t think he had a perfect lap, I don’t think he had full deployment, or something like that.

“I think that’s a learning for us, never take things for granted and continue to push.”

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