Peter Windsor left worried by ‘difficult’ Lewis Hamilton radio message he heard at Spa

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Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton had an incredibly dramatic Sunday at the Belgian Grand Prix.

After a strong qualifying performance that saw him starting in 3^rd, Lewis Hamilton dispatched Sergio Perez before the end of the first lap to start chasing down Charles Leclerc.

The seven-time world champion didn’t take long to snatch the lead of the race from his future teammate and against all odds he looked set to challenge for another victory.

Red Bull and McLaren were expected to have faster cars than Mercedes during the Belgian Grand Prix but each driver within both teams had individual issues to deal with.

Max Verstappen’s grid penalty limited his progress despite being a level above in qualifying, while Perez’s pace was simply not good enough throughout the race.

Oscar Piastri’s mistake in the pit lane during the final stint cost him the chance to record back-to-back wins while Lando Norris ruined his race coming out of the first corner when he dipped two wheels into the gravel.

That meant in Hamilton’s head that he was the favourite for victory after his second stop, all he had to do was close down his teammate George Russell.

Russell gambled on a one-stop strategy and as the race wore on, it looked more and more likely that he would be able to complete a stunning 34-lap stint.

Reflecting on the race on his YouTube channel, Peter Windsor admitted one radio message from Hamilton during the final few laps was very difficult to hear.

Hamilton – and Piastri – eventually caught Russell in the final laps but couldn’t find a way past the 26-year-old.

His penalty was incredibly unfortunate and out of his control, although Hamilton had a lot of sympathy for Russell after the race.

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Peter Windsor relays ‘difficult’ Lewis Hamilton radio message at Spa

Talking about Russell’s one-stop strategy Windsor: “It brings into focus how [Russell was] thinking on his feet and driving really hard and George Russell’s really good at that.

“He’s really good at sniffing the air and seeing where he is in any given race and looking at all the possibilities that are around even if there’s something that hasn’t been talked about.

“And I don’t think it was talked about judging by the radio messages to Lewis Hamilton during the race.

“Once he’d come in after his second stop and he’s on his final set of hard tyres, all the talk then was the gap to the car in front and how quickly he could run on those tyres and obviously there was less loads going through the tyres so he could push them harder on the entries of corners.

“It was all just along the lines of everything’s going to be fine.

“Then suddenly we get Lewis saying, ‘What’s the gap to George, am I on track to win this race?’

“All of a sudden I think everyone realised it was going to be very, very difficult.

“Difficult moment for Mercedes, you would imagine.”

Windsor went on to explain that Hamilton may feel hard done by that he wasn’t given the option to use the same strategy considering he was the lead car in the race.

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Martin Brundle noticed Lewis Hamilton wasn’t happy after Belgian Grand Prix

Sky Sports strategy analyst Bernie Collins admitted after the race that Mercedes disqualification at Spa was worrying even if it ended up benefitting Hamilton.

Her colleague Martin Brundle spotted Hamilton’s disappointment after the race and that adds up with what Windsor heard from the 39-year-old on his team radio.

Hamilton inheriting victory from Russell has helped him in the Drivers’ Championship even if Mercedes have suffered in the battle to chase down McLaren and Mercedes.

He’s not in the race to win the championship – it’s a stretch to say anyone except Norris could chase down Verstappen – but he’ll want to be in the best form possible before making his long-awaited switch to Ferrari.