QatarGrand Prix

Team fights back to score important points at the Lusail International Circuit

• George Russell came home fourth while Lewis Hamilton was an opening lap retirement in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.

• On safety grounds, an 18-lap maximum stint on each tyre was mandated for the race. That meant every competitor had to make a minimum of three pit stops.

• Starting P2, George lined up on a used Medium tyre with Lewis on a new Soft in P3. After good launches, they made contact in turn one with Lewis retiring.

• Suffering a puncture, George was able to continue after a first lap stop, and his race became a four-stop. He ultimately ran a Medium, Medium, Hard, Soft to the flag.

• His pace was very strong and he was able to carve his way through the field to P4.

• Despite there being more on the table, the team managed to outscore Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship and extend the gap to 28 points.

Lewis Hamilton

It was a big opportunity to get some good points for the team and in the heat of the moment, I didn’t really understand what happened. I felt the tap from behind, but I don’t think George had anywhere to go. It was a really unfortunate situation and I feel really sorry for the entire team. Massive apologies to everyone back at Brackley and Brixworth, and I take full responsibility. Everybody is working incredibly hard so it’s massively gutting to have a result like this. The positives are that the pace of the car was strong across the weekend. George was also able to do a good job of getting back through to score some important points.