Analysis: What made Mercedes get it so very wrong - Motorsport.com
In 2011, Vitaly Petrov's crash led to a red flag which ruined a potentially fantastic climax as it meant everyone could switch to new tyres, so we didn't see how the closing laps would have unfolded for the top three drivers, each of whom had run... This time around Max Verstappen's accident had the opposite effect, turning what had developed into a demonstration run for Lewis Hamilton into an extraordinary drama that gave us an exciting eight-lap sprint to the end. After just five laps he was already 2. 3s ahead of Nico Rosberg, and by the time the German pitted on lap 37 the gap was 7. 4s. Hamilton came in the next lap – one short of half distance – to give himself what should have been a straightforward... Hamilton didn't simply consolidate his lead, he extended it, and indeed by lap 63 he was 19. 6s ahead of his teammate. It was while he was on his 64th lap that Verstappen crashed at Ste Devote, and F1's first Virtual Safety Car was called for. Like all the other drivers Hamilton slowed as required, and on that lap he lost around 14s relative to his previous laptimes, crossing the line with a 1m33. 047s lap. His pursuers spent more of that lap at the slower speed, so by the time Rosberg crossed the line the screens suggested that he was 25. 7s behind Hamilton. Source: www.motorsport.com
