Lewis Hamilton forced to admit defeat in apology to F1 team after disastrous start to Hungarian Grand Prix
LEWIS HAMILTON was forced to admit defeat in the Hungarian Grand Prix just moments after his disastrous start at the Hungaroring.
But he was overtaken by a rampant Max Verstappen on the first corner.
Matters were compounded by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris also overtaking Hamilton during the first lap - which saw Hamilton drop to fourth.
Hamilton apologised to his team over the radio after the poor start, simply saying: "sorry about that guys".
Race engineer Peter Bonnington was keen to keep Hamilton's spirits up however, and said: “Don't sweat it, Lewis. It's going to be a long, hot race."
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He was unable to match the race pace of the two McLaren's in front of them as they began to build a formidable gap as the race went on.
Hamilton was becoming increasingly frustrated before admitting he could not compete with the two cars in front of him.
He said: "Definitely don't have the pace to overtake these guys."
His frustration continued later in the race, saying: "How have they got nine seconds all of a sudden. That's a crazy amount."
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Hamilton then questioned the performance of his hardware as Verstappen opened a 20 second lead on his Mercedes.
He asked his team over the radio: "Are you turning the engine down?"
To which the reply over the radio was: "Negative, Lewis. Just managing the temp situation."
Hamilton would go on to finish fourth in Hungary in what was quite a frustrating race for the Brit.