Lewis Hamilton told he cost Ferrari by doing something ‘really unbelievable’ at the British Grand Prix

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Former F1 driver Christijan Albers believes Lewis Hamilton cost himself and Ferrari a podium finish at the British Grand Prix, cementing his record of consecutive podiums on the same circuit at 12.

The seven-time World Champion was the leading Ferrari for the entirety of the Grand Prix but narrowly missed out on the chance to sit atop his home podium for the 13th consecutive year due to a charging Nico Hulkenberg taking his first top-three finish in F1.

After starting from fifth on the grid, Hamilton lost multiple track positions due to pitting for a new set of intermediate-weather tyres just before the Safety Car was brought out.

The seasoned veteran withheld pressure from his former team-mate George Russell on the restart, and managed to slowly claw his way back up the field to behind Hulkenberg by the time the track was ready for slick tyres.

Christijan Albers believes Lewis Hamilton had a shot, but ‘threw it all away’

The change over period came around lap 42, giving the 40-year-old approximately 10 laps to catch Hulkenberg’s Sauber who was 10 seconds up the road.

However, on a track that was still wet in some areas, it proved to be a difficult feat for Hamilton who isn’t completely comfortable with his Ferrari just yet.

Speaking to Erik van Haren on De Telegraaf‘s F1 podcast, Albers made his feelings on Hamilton’s final stint very clear, saying, “Hamilton totally threw it away this weekend. Totally threw it away.

“That’s really unbelievable. I don’t know what he did now, but I thought the two Ferraris looked good in qualifying.

“He really made a bit of a mess of it,” Albers continued. “When he was behind Hulkenberg with the slicks, he just lost way too much time.”

Hamilton didn’t apply enough pressure on the car in front

Whilst racing on a drying race track leaves very little room for error, Albers believes that Hamilton threw away his chance at a podium by not putting himself in clear view of Hulkenberg’s rear-view mirrors and forcing the German into a mistake.

“He went off right after the pit stop,” started Albers. “You then have another extra second because you have to get those tyres back to temperature due to driving through the water so they cooled off again.

“Then he drives over it again and then at some point again in the last sector. Then you don’t catch up anymore either. And if you do catch up to Hulkenberg then you get a Hulkenberg who obviously has to defend a bit and gets nervous.

“Then you get a completely different driving style from him than if you are relaxed in the car. That’s an opportunity you threw away for a third place on the podium.”

Hamilton is yet to stand on a Grand Prix podium in the colours of the prancing horse, but will be hoping that the upgrade package Ferrari are bringing to the Belgian Grand Prix will aid him in getting there.