P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Hamilton critical of Mercedes not swapping cars earlier at Suzuka
After qualifying in fifth place and narrowly avoiding a collision with his teammate George Russell, Lewis Hamilton’s race got off to a rough start when he made contact with Sergio Perez’s Red Bull, dropping him to seventh. Despite facing minor damage, Hamilton managed to fight his way back up to fifth by the end of the race. He believed that without the incident at the start, he could have challenged Charles Leclerc for fourth place. Hamilton also struggled with front-locking issues throughout the race, which affected his performance. He had a fierce battle with Russell, who was on a different pit stop strategy, but eventually overtook him with the help of team orders. Hamilton felt that the team could have handled the situation better to maximize their chances against the Ferraris.
Source: Motorsport Week
