Lewis Hamilton, the British driver for Mercedes AMG in Formula 1, described his intense battle with Kevin Magnussen from Haas during the Miami Sprint race as “extremely challenging” but also something he thoroughly enjoyed. Hamilton had a dramatic start to the race, diving down the inside of Turn 1 and causing a chaotic situation involving Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, and Lando Norris. Although no investigation was conducted into the incident, Hamilton found himself in a fierce fight with Magnussen for eighth place and the final point throughout the race. Magnussen defended his position aggressively, forcing Hamilton wide at Turn 11 on two occasions and allowing Yuki Tsunoda to overtake. However, Hamilton managed to regain his position and overtake both Magnussen and Tsunoda to secure eighth place. Unfortunately, Hamilton was later penalized for speeding in the pit lane, resulting in a drop to 16th place. Despite the penalty, Hamilton expressed his satisfaction with the battle, stating that he enjoyed the opportunity to race and appreciated not moving backwards. Magnussen, on the other hand, was disappointed with the situation as he believed he could have benefitted his teammate Nico Hulkenberg if he had been given the chance to defend his position against Hamilton.
“I had to create a gap in a similar manner as I did in Jeddah and begin employing these foolish strategies, which I am not fond of.
“However, in the end, I fulfilled my responsibilities as a team player and allowed Nico to secure his points by establishing that gap, preventing Lewis and [Yuki] Tsunoda from catching up. It’s not my preferred approach to racing, but it was necessary today.”
Magnussen received a total of 25 seconds’ worth of penalties for his actions but acknowledged that the Stewards were justified in demoting him to the last classified position.
“I fully accept that all the penalties were well-deserved without a doubt,” he admitted.
Hamilton, despite expressing frustration over team radio in the heat of the moment, respected Magnussen’s honesty once they were out of their cars.
“I find it truly commendable and quite cool,” he remarked. “We had a thrilling race, with some moments pushing the boundaries, but that’s what I thrive on! I enjoy racing fiercely.”
“I wasn’t really upset or anything! But yes, that’s what you do to function as a team, so bravo.”