For Lewis Hamilton, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was at times a very nervous race, in which he had to climb to the heights of his skills. How was his communication with the race engineer? Read and see!
Before take-off, the engineer informs Lewis of the surface temperature, and Hamilton reports that the air temperature seems cooler. The engineer confirms. After a fairly detailed countdown, Lewis goes for a warm-up lap. There is one “moment” when Lewis gets too close to Bottas. It was far away from contact, but it was certainly not intentional.
Hamilton has a mediocre start where Verstappen easily overtakes him, then the Englishman runs very far from his rivals. The engineer at the end of the lap asks him to change the “loss” settings.
“Verstappen second ahead of you, Ricciardo 2.4 behind you,” Lewis hears on the third lap, and at the end of the circle announces the availability of the DRS system.
“It’s very hard to follow,” reports Hamilton. “Make sure you have tires at the end of the stint,” says the engineer, later asking Hamilton to think about quitting a bit to cool the car down.
On lap 9, Lewis reports that he is starting to lose his rear, so he is asked to change setup and gets information on his opponents’ pace. Two laps later he complains about the tires again, this time for the right front.
On lap 12, after receiving information about his rivals’ pace, Lewis asks about the temperatures, getting the reply that they are “slightly falling”. Soon after, an order to change the settings will be made and Lewis will receive another information about the pace of his rivals.
“You can’t follow someone, I feel like I’m losing a lot in the last sector,” says Lewis on lap 15. “Turns 17 and 18 generally,” replies the engineer.
On Lap 17, Peter Bonnington says that they are now aiming to complete 3 laps more than the original goal. “I don’t know if these tires will last that much,” replies Hamilton.
When Verstappen pits on Lap 18, Lewis says, “I’m going to pick up the pace now, don’t stop me.”
“Lewis, we’re gonna extend the ride.” The driver confirms and asks for the pace. “You are the fastest visitor on the track, we are pleased,” replies “Bono”.
“How’s the pace?” Hamilton asks shortly after. “Okay, but we need to find some more time. You have 9 seconds of clean confirms in front of you, take advantage of it, ”replies the engineer. On lap 22, the engineer asks again if his pace is right and is confirmed with information about the other laps.
“Lewis, if you still have some pace to spare …” Bono begins on the next circle. “I don’t” – the driver replies shortly. “Okay, do what you do,” Bono replies and informs Lewis that he broke the track limits in turn 15.
After a few laps, Hamilton reports that he is starting to get closer to the laps. He is asked if he can do 10 more laps on these tires. “Even longer, the tires are OK now,” he says.
On lap 30, he is informed of yellow flags after Ocon is released. They last quite a long time, and in the meantime, Lewis will again get information about the pace of his rivals.
Just before the end of the lap and the white box entry line, Bonnington yells “box, box, box, box!” Lewis leaves at the last minute and is still informed about the delta. After a good pit stop, the engineer tells Hamilton to leave quickly and asks him to keep the delta.
After being reminded of the setup, Hamilton receives the information that he is the first and for the next dozen or so laps “Bono” will be giving him information about the pace of his rivals, his own and his advantage over Bottas.
There will also be memories of damage to the floor at Bottas. “Hit something?” Lewis will ask. “Yes, in lap 2,” replies the engineer.
Lewis will also be informed about upcoming doublings. When driving behind a group of doubled riders, the Englishman will get very nervous about not being passed by shouting “blue flags, blue flags”.
On lap 44, Lewis announces that his tires may not last to the end of the race. 3 laps later, Hamilton reports hard tire temperatures are difficult to maintain. He also gets information about the pace.
When Verstappen is behind Lewis, the Englishman will be informed about it, and a few laps later Bono will say: “Verstappen is over the track, you can see he’s pushing.”
When Verstappen leaves the race, Hamilton is informed of it. “I’m getting some vibration from the tires, no big deal,” reports the driver. “We see it,” replies the engineer. “You’re in the safety car window,” he says after a moment.
The band wants to get the Englishman to the pits right away, Bono yells “box, box, box” again, but Lewis immediately reports that it was too late because he missed the white line. “Delta, delta, delta, delta,” says the engineer, asking the driver to hold the delta.
Hamilton is asked to change the next set-up behind the safety car and then receives a message that the team is afraid they will run on this set of tires, so he will pit but be close to Bottas. The Englishman is concerned about losing his position, but admits that his right rear tire doesn’t look good. “Are we going to lose this place?” Lewis asks. “Hold the delta,” says the engineer.
The stop is not revivable, but Hamilton manages to leave before Bottas. The engineer tells him he can race to the line of the safety car, then asks him very nervously to hold onto the delta. “Take it easy, man,” Lewis replies.
Hamilton resumes very well and in the last laps he mainly gets messages over his advantage over the others. There are also questions about the best race of the season. After crossing the finish line, the record for victories in the Mercedes constructors’ championship becomes the main topic.
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