Lewis Hamilton’s Only Weakness in Racecraft
- Tarasekhar Padhy
- Feb 5
- 5 min read
Seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton leaves the inside line open.
Most motorsport drivers and spectators are aware of the importance of holding on to the inside line while taking a corner during an on-track fight. The inside line offers a higher grip and a faster exit out of the corner.
Even if you are defending with a slower car, provided you hold the inside line, you can deliberately brake later to run your opponent wide or motivate them to back off, thereby retaining the position. Max Verstappen did that to Lando Norris in the 2024 Austin Grand Prix.
Anyway, for some reason, the most decorated driver in F1 history occasionally forgets all of that to allow his rivals to conveniently go past.
In this article, let’s look at some of those instances and analyze this selective habit’s potential impact on a closely fought F1 world championship battle.
When Champions Overtake Lewis From the Inside
As a casual fan, I’ve caught several instances where talented F1 drivers have exploited this particular mistake of Lewis.
Räikkönen, Vettel, Alonso, and Verstappen have spotted that Hamilton leaves the door open at times while taking a corner and have successfully capitalized on that opportunity on many occasions. Below are some of those instances.
1. Räikkönen: China, 2007
I know what you are going to say. Lewis had worse tires than Kimi, which led to the Finnish driver overtake the Brit. Hamilton ran wide at the T14 hairpin due to reduced grip from worn intermediate tires, allowing the Iceman to capitalize on the mistake. [1]
However, a couple of corners before the move, he was taking unnecessarily wider exits. Consequently, Kimi inched closer and had a significantly better entry into the hairpin, also aided by the extra grip in his tires.
It is possible that Lewis could have hugged the inside line throughout the dynamic track and attempted to back up Räikkönen. He was doing exactly that in the previous few laps and it was working perfectly.
Yes, he was still running deep into the hairpin, but because Kimi was not close enough—thanks in part to Hamilton’s protection of the inside line in the preceding corners—Hamilton managed to maintain his race lead.
Everything fell apart on Lap 29 when he took wider exits, allowing the Iceman to close in significantly by the time they reached T14. Hamilton panicked and over-braked in an attempt to protect his position, but it was a desperate move.
Lewis had to run wide to avoid spinning the car. There was no other option. Kimi had gained sufficient advantage in the preceding corners, and Hamilton’s tires had taken too much punishment.
2. Vettel: Austria, 2018
This one is pretty straightforward. It appears that Lewis didn’t even consider the importance of the inside line. Although Sebastian was behind Lewis, Hamilton left a car’s width—allowing the German driver to take the inside line and overtake him at T3. [2]
If the 7‑time world champion had simply closed the gap on the inside a bit more, he could have prevented the 4‑time world champion from executing the pass.
Even if one argues that Mercedes struggled with pace—as they typically do at the Red Bull Ring—Lewis could have made it more challenging for his rival. However, in the end, it didn’t matter, as Hamilton eventually retired due to an engine issue.
3. Alonso: Canada, 2023
The race started well for Lewis, as he snatched P2 from his former teammate at the beginning of the session. However, on lap 22, he simply moved aside—conceding the second position to Fernando. [3]
This allowed the Spaniard to take the inside line at the chicane and reclaim the position he had lost earlier in the race.
Again, Hamilton could have defended the inside and forced Alonso to go all the way around outside. Furthermore, since it was a chicane, it would have been challenging for an outside driver to complete the pass.
4. Verstappen: Spain and Abu Dhabi, 2021
The most recent dude to give #TeamLH PTSD was Max Verstappen in the 2021 F1 season. He discovered this weakness of Lewis and has exploited it successfully twice (that I know of) in that remarkable season.
1. Spain
At the beginning of the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton gets a better drive in the second phase of the run into T1. He was completely ahead of Max but still didn’t move over to defend the inside line. [4]
As you know, the Dutch driver doesn’t need an invitation and will always seize any available gap.
2. Abu Dhabi
The final-lap shootout.
Again, I admit that Hamilton was on inferior tires, and his heart must have sunk when he heard Masi fiddling with the safety car guidelines.
But he did leave the inside line to T5 open wide. Verstappen accepted the gift, the position, the race win, and, of course, the world championship. [5]
Now, although Lewis repeated his classic mistake, I still believe he was robbed in this race. He built up two 12‑second gaps to Max Verstappen—something only a few can achieve. Had the safety car guidelines been followed appropriately, he would have won the title.
Implications in Close Title Fights
It’s hard to precisely speculate how this occasional driver oversight may affect Hamilton’s campaign for a record-breaking eighth world title over 24 races. However, judging by how close some title fights have been—such as in 2007 and 2021—it could have serious repercussions for him.
Additionally, he is not only vulnerable to being overtaken from the inside; he also makes inside attacks when the driver ahead is clearly narrowing the gap. Lewis attempted to overtake Rosberg from the inside during the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, ultimately ruining both of their races.
Niki Lauda, after the aforementioned incident, educated Hamilton on how he should’ve taken the outside line considering how Nico was harvesting battery power.
Regardless of the seriousness of the impact of this mistake, contenders can’t just count on Lewis to repeat this to snatch up a championship. First of all, to ensure these unforced errors mean anything, you need to be close to Hamilton, which is already a tough ask.
Looking Forward: It Won’t Matter
There can be a handful of opportunities throughout the season where Lewis leaves the inside line open for his rivals to pass through. At the same time, if anyone can undo the damage it causes, it’s probably Lewis.
For instance, in Spain in 2021, where he lost the lead to Max, he regained the position later in the race by using an aggressive two-stop strategy.
Another essential thing to keep in mind is that Hamilton drives better as the season goes along.
In almost all of the seasons where he was under pressure at the start, he somehow managed to close the gap and eventually pull a decent margin. You can look at 2017, 2018, and 2021. Yes, he lost the championship in 2021, but he drove miraculously well in the second half of the season.
Again, if his rival is right at his level in terms of pure pace and skill, like Fernando and Max, then these mistakes could cost him the world title. Even then, it’s hard, because it’s Lewis.
Until next time,
Tara
