Lewis Hamilton's mind games theory after 'message' to overtake George Russell

Lewis Hamilton accepted blame for a poor race in Canada as part of a mind game against George Russell, it has been suggested.

Hamilton finished fourth, one place behind pole sitter Russell, in a very promising weekend for Mercedes at the Canadian F1 Grand Prix.

But Russell’s late pass on his esteemed teammate could be the cause of an unusual post-race quote from Hamilton, it has been claimed.

Hamilton called the Canadian Grand Prix “one of the worst races” he has driven.

F1 Nation podcast host Tom Clarkson said: “Lewis Hamilton was energized knowing he would have the front wing on his car, which he had not driven at Monaco.

“He was motivated, very fast in training. He escaped in qualifying. He said after the race that he didn’t have a good race.

Natalie Pinkham responded: “He actually said it was one of his worst races in a very long time.

“Talk about self-chastisement and blame games!”

“Take very public responsibility for this. Was it such a bad race?

Clarkson said: “No. But was that partly because George had passed him by.

“And he wanted to send the message, ‘George, you only pass me when I have a really bad race…’

“That’s how I read it.”

Pinkham disagreed: “You’re diving too deep into psychology.

“Whatever he says, people will spin it. They say “one moment you blame the upgrades, then you blame the team…”

“No, he raises his hands. Here’s a good guy who beats himself up and says, “I wasn’t good enough today.”

“I thought that was incredible to hear. Here is a man who has nothing to prove to anyone and who was always ready to take it on, at that moment.

Clarkson said: “He has nothing to prove.

“However, on Saturday after qualifying, he said, ‘I don’t understand why my car’s performance drops in qualifying.’