Lewis Hamilton defended Sebastian Vettel after Vettel spun late in the 2019 Formula 1 season’s second race, the Bahrain Grand Prix.
To conclude a battle that lasted for a couple of laps in the second race of the 2019 Formula 1 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton passed Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for second place.
But after Hamilton made this pass on lap 38 of the 57-lap race around the 15-turn, 3.363-mile (5.412-kilometer) Bahrain International Circuit road course in Sakhir, Bahrain, Vettel spun out.
Later that lap, Vettel damaged his front wing before his front wing came off of his car, causing him to make an unscheduled pit stop.
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Instead of finishing the race in the top two, or at the very least, on the podium, Vettel ended up having to battle back several positions to even salvage a fifth place finish.
As a result, many fans have insinuated that Vettel, like he did on many occasions last season, caved under pressure, not only the pressure applied to him by Hamilton but by new teammate Charles Leclerc, who dominated the race before an engine issue robbed him of the victory. The 21-year-old Monegasque still finished the race in third place to finish on the podium for the first time in his Formula 1 career.
Hamilton won the race ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in second. Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen separated Leclerc from Vettel in fourth.
However, Hamilton disagrees with the idea that Vettel caves under pressure and did so again in this instance. Instead, he stood up for the four-time champion. Here is what the five-time champion had to say about the matter, according to Autosport.
"“It’s not that it plays on your mind, it happens to all of us. Just because you’re a four-time champion doesn’t mean you’re not going to have off-weekends. It’s more cumulative. If you look at Vettel’s career he’s had stunning performances that far more outweigh the weaker races, and when he’s spun, for example, they are minuscule on the status that he’s accumulated and created.“There are always times where you happen to just not get the right car set-up. You guys don’t get to see all these little things that we’re doing, and it just doesn’t happen to work that weekend. And the differences are so small, and yet they look so big.“I don’t know why their car was so different in pace, but I remember, looking back on me and Nico [Rosberg], we would be in Barcelona, we were quick in testing, and then there were massive differences in the car in the race. You’re literally just driving with your hands behind your back, and you’ve got no grip. Then another race, it’s the other way.“I don’t know why it happens, but today it was one of those for him. But he’s a world champion and a great athlete. He will recover and keep pushing.”"
Is Lewis Hamilton right to defend Sebastian Vettel over Vettel’s most recent spin, especially since Vettel has made numerous recent mistakes that have cost him valuable Formula 1 championship points over the last few seasons?