"This is serious lack of professionalism for the highest paid driver on the grid": Fans unimpressed with Lewis Hamilton's pleas to retire the car
Lewis Hamilton’s 2024 Qatar GP is best forgotten for the seven-time champion. The Briton complained of not having pace in the car after qualifying. The weekend only went south for Hamilton as he requested his team to retire the car during the race. Fans came out and pointed out his lack of professionalism after his pleas to retire the car.
Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The Briton was asked by the team about the penalty. And the Mercedes driver requested his team to retire the car and end the misery. The floor was already damaged and the #44 driver was struggling with his car.
Regardless, the team asked Hamilton to stay out. The Brit’s pleas to retire angered some fans.
A fan posted on X, “This is a serious lack of professionalism for the highest paid driver on the grid.”
Another mentioned, “Lewis Hamilton hall of fame drive for the history books. False start penalty, puncture, speeding in the pits penalty."
"Did I see that right? Lewis Hamilton just tried to quit the race 3/4th the way through?" questioned another user.
The Mercedes driver started the race in P6. However, he jumped the start and was given a five-second penalty for the same. He also lost a whole bunch of positions after his false start. This put him on the backfoot as he ran in the final points positions. But it got a lot worse for him.
"Lewis doesn’t even thank the guys back at the factory anymore. That team is cooked," wrote a fan on X.
Another mentioned, "Definitely the worst race of the year for Lewis Hamilton, his first finish out of the points in like forever. This makes Brazil look good."
"Lewis Hamilton fed up with Mercedes to the point he wanted to park it and get out.. wow," tweeted another user.
Hamilton also suffered a puncture on Lap 33 as he ran over debris in Turn 1. The Mercedes’ floor scraped the track as the Brit made his way back to the pits. As the safety car came out to get the debris cleared, cars were instructed to drive through the pits.
Lewis Hamilton's radio exchange with Peter Bonnington about retiring the car
The radio conversation between Hamilton and his engineer regarding the drive-through penalty hinted at how downbeat Hamilton was at the Qatar GP. After Russell out-qualified the seven-time champion in the sprint qualifying, Hamilton suggested that he's "just slow."
Bono asked Hamilton to pit for the drive-through penalty as he said (via F1 TV):
“We will serve the penalty on this lap.”
Hamilton responded:
“Retire the car. Retire the car.”
As Bono denied the request, Hamilton added:
“I’m switching off when I get in there, mate. I’m switching off.”
Advising the driver about the consequences, Bono said:
“That’s fine if you want a five second penalty in the next race. We only need to do one more lap but drive through.”
Hamilton continued on, making up 12 seconds in the final seven laps and overtook three cars to finish P12.