Lewis Hamilton reminisces his childhood karting days after Belgian GP - “We’d always start at the back”

Lewis Hamilton reminisced about his childhood karting memories when reflecting on his outing at the Belgian Grand Prix. The 40-year-old detailed that his drive at the Spa-Francorchamps race was subtly similar to his days driving go-karts.

The British driver, who had started the weather-affected race from the pit lane, clawed his way up the grid effortlessly—even in the wet conditions—to finish the weekend in seventh place. Hamilton, who was subsequently named Driver of the Day at the event, weighed in on his outing at the Ardennes Forest race during his post-race interview with Sky Sports. Hamilton stated:

“I always love races like that where you have a challenge and have to make your way through the field. That’s really kind of how my life started in racing at Rye House. We didn’t have such a great go-kart and we’d always start at the back. “Very reminiscent of that sort of thing, and great work by the team. Disappointed to have had not such a great weekend—definitely one to forget—but at least we still got some points. And we outscored Mercedes, collectively.”

The Belgian Grand Prix weekend proved to be one to forget for Lewis Hamilton, up until the start of the main race. The seven-time world champion had suffered double Q1 eliminations during both the Sprint and main qualifying sessions, and failed to collect any meaningful points during the Sprint race session of the weekend.

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Lewis Hamilton agrees with Max Verstappen after Belgian GP delay

Lewis Hamilton also agreed with Max Verstappen about the delayed start of the Belgian Grand Prix event. The British driver hit out at the FIA for the late start at Stavelot.

The Belgian Grand Prix, which was largely rain-affected, was forced into a one-hour delay, with the race director opting to wait for the track to dry out before giving the signal for the race to begin. Following this delay, Verstappen, who spoke to the media after the conclusion of the race, stated:

“It just ruins a nice, classic wet race. It’s a shame for everyone.”

When Lewis Hamilton was also quizzed about the delayed start to the Spa race, he echoed the sentiments of the Red Bull Racing driver, stating:

“We obviously started the race a little too late, I would say. I kept shouting, it’s ready to go, it’s ready to go.”

While both drivers appeared to agree that the race started a little too late, one driver who seemed to enjoy the timing was Oscar Piastri. The McLaren driver, who had qualified in second place for the event, expertly got past his teammate, Lando Norris, as they approached Eau Rouge.

Piastri, following the early-lap overtake, largely coasted to what was a comfortable victory ahead of his teammate to further extend his lead atop the Drivers’ Championship.

Edited by Luke Koshi