New Lewis Hamilton footage shows Briton’s devastated reaction after Saudi Arabian GP

Chris Evans says Max Verstappen needs to 'be a bit nicer'

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Lewis Hamilton’s gutted reaction to a disappointing Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has been put on full display by new footage. The Brit struggled for pace all weekend and failed to mount a meaningful challenge to those towards the top of the field. 

Hamilton’s anguish began on Saturday when he put on his worst qualifying performance based on pure pace since 2009. The seven-time world champion wrestled with an experimental set-up on his Mercedes that saw him fail to make it past Q1. 

Mick Schumacher’s crash and subsequent withdrawal from Sunday’s race saw Hamilton start 15th on the grid. A long stint on hard tyres saw him progress through the field but, after eventually pitting, he had to settle for an underwhelming 10th-place finish. 

Ending up with a solitary point is unfamiliar territory for the 37-year-old, illustrated by his striking post-race question. It will have been even more painful in light of the blockbuster fight between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc for the lead, which the Mercedes man played no part in. 

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Hamilton’s old foe, Verstappen, prevailed to put his first points on the board in defending a world title that already looks to be beyond the Brit. As drivers got out of their cars after a gruelling contest, new footage perfectly illustrates his mood. 

As competitors further up the pecking order congratulated each other on a thrilling race, Hamilton crouched down with his back against the wall. Hands on knees and staring at the ground, he then solemnly trudged off with two weeks to wait until he can make amends in Melbourne. 

The outlook is not all doom and gloom for Mercedes, however. Sergio Perez’s Bahrain retirement and subsequent misfortune in Jeddah leaves him with ground to make up in the Drivers’ Championship, with Hamilton and George Russell respectively occupying fifth and fourth at this early stage. 

Indeed, the Mercedes youngster put in another respectable display in Saudi Arabia, adding a fifth-place finish to the fourth he earned at Sakhir. Russell currently leads Hamilton in the Championship by six points. 

“We were still on average a second behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the race,” Russell told Sky Sports. “We’re making baby steps at the moment, we need to make some bigger leaps, I’m sure we can do that.

“Timeline I don’t know, at the end of the day the others are continuing to improve as well, so we’re improving, they’re improving, we just need to do it at a faster rate.”

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