F1 News: Hamilton Critiques Russell After Underwhelming Dutch GP - 'I Could’ve Finished Higher'

Lewis Hamilton expressed frustration with teammate George Russell following a disappointing performance at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Hamilton believes he could have secured a top-five finish, potentially even fourth place, had he not faced issues during qualifying.

He told the media :

"If I just qualified like I should’ve qualified and if I didn’t have a problem in qualifying, then yeah [I would have finished higher].

"I think I had the pace today to definitely [finish] in the top 5. If I started fourth, for example, then I would’ve finished at least fourth."

Hamilton, who opted for the less common soft Pirelli tires, felt his car had the pace to compete with the front-runners at Zandvoort.

"We planned to do a two-stop and started on the soft, it was a very good tire. The soft tire felt better than the medium tire on practice day. The hard tire was fairly decent, it was really difficult to see what I needed to do whether to push, I was on a two, so trying to use up the tire but wasn’t sure whether or not we might go for a one.

"I had a bit of a lock up which meant I had to stay on my strategy. Probably if I’d have done one stop I might have managed it a bit better, maybe finish one place ahead."

Mercedes has shown significant improvement this season, with both drivers frequently reaching the podium. Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix, while Hamilton claimed victories at the British and Belgian Grands Prix.

However, the Dutch GP proved challenging for Mercedes. Hamilton struggled in qualifying, getting eliminated in Q2 and receiving a three-place grid penalty for impeding another driver.

This forced him to start in fourteenth place. He managed to finish eighth, one position behind Russell, who started fourth but ended the race in seventh.

Hamilton's performance was hindered by his qualifying position and strategy choices. He had planned a two-stop strategy with soft tires, which he found performed better than the mediums during practice.

Despite his efforts, he could not overcome the setbacks faced during qualifying and the race.

Mercedes is now looking to bounce back in the upcoming races as they aim to close the gap with championship leaders Red Bull.