When he got off of his McLaren-Mercedes after the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, British driver Lewis Hamilton was fuming. He was convinced that the second pit stop for tires requested by the McLaren team had just cost him a place on the podium.
The engineers of McLaren decided to ask Hamilton to stop for fresh rubber in order to duplicate what fellow frontrunners Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg had just done. They were flying out on the dry track.
The pit stop dropped Hamilton down the field, and the Briton was later pushed down to 6th when Webber’s Red Bull hit him.
Hamilton was highly critical of the decision to have him pit for a set of new tires a second time.
But in an interview published on his personal website on Tuesday, the former World Champion explained he now understands McLaren's theory.
"The team has explained to me their reasoning behind the second pit stop, and I can understand what they were trying to do in trying to cover both Mark and Nico for later in the race," he wrote on his web site.
"We are still learning about this year's tires and the degradation, and perhaps we over-estimated the wear that the frontrunners were expecting to suffer. It's something you learn from, and we'll use that knowledge to help us improve throughout this season."
Hamilton added that he was very happy to see his new teammate, Jenson Button, take the win.
"As soon as Jenson finished in the press conference, I went down to see him and I gave him a big hug," wrote Hamilton. "You can't take anything away from his drive in Australia -- it was faultless, and he thoroughly deserved the victory.
"And every win is special: you always love to win, but if it can't be for me, then I want it to be my teammate.
"It's good to see the team celebrating Jenson's win -- victories are very important for our team because they not only bring everyone closer together, but they also help validate the work we're doing and the approach we're taking. After a difficult 2009 season and our regrouping over the winter, I think the win in Australia will make the whole team a lot stronger."
The engineers of McLaren decided to ask Hamilton to stop for fresh rubber in order to duplicate what fellow frontrunners Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg had just done. They were flying out on the dry track.
The pit stop dropped Hamilton down the field, and the Briton was later pushed down to 6th when Webber’s Red Bull hit him.
Hamilton was highly critical of the decision to have him pit for a set of new tires a second time.
But in an interview published on his personal website on Tuesday, the former World Champion explained he now understands McLaren's theory.
"The team has explained to me their reasoning behind the second pit stop, and I can understand what they were trying to do in trying to cover both Mark and Nico for later in the race," he wrote on his web site.
"We are still learning about this year's tires and the degradation, and perhaps we over-estimated the wear that the frontrunners were expecting to suffer. It's something you learn from, and we'll use that knowledge to help us improve throughout this season."
Hamilton added that he was very happy to see his new teammate, Jenson Button, take the win.
"As soon as Jenson finished in the press conference, I went down to see him and I gave him a big hug," wrote Hamilton. "You can't take anything away from his drive in Australia -- it was faultless, and he thoroughly deserved the victory.
"And every win is special: you always love to win, but if it can't be for me, then I want it to be my teammate.
"It's good to see the team celebrating Jenson's win -- victories are very important for our team because they not only bring everyone closer together, but they also help validate the work we're doing and the approach we're taking. After a difficult 2009 season and our regrouping over the winter, I think the win in Australia will make the whole team a lot stronger."