Norris had started Saturday’s sprint event in Shanghai from pole position, but failed to come through the lights as well as his compatriot Hamilton, who came into him at the entrance to the first turn.
Hamilton hugged the inside line throughout the long right-hander, while Norris tried to hang on to the outside before losing grip off the line and leaving the circuit, losing the order in the process.
Given McLaren’s high pace throughout Friday, Hamilton believes Norris should have been smarter in giving up his place and finishing second, before biding his time to retake the lead later.
Speaking about the Turn 1 battle with Norris, Hamilton said: “Obviously I got a good start and I had the inside line.
“He tried to hold the outside line and he was just pushing as hard as he could. I used everything to try to maintain that position, and eventually I think he ended up on the outside.
“There’s a point where, if you go a little too far, there’s no more grip.
“In this scenario he should have just conceded and parked behind me. I probably would have had the pace to surpass myself [later].”
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
With Norris out of sight, Hamilton was in the lead, and he was able to gain a small advantage over Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in the early stages of the race.
And although world champion Max Verstappen recovered from a difficult first few laps to pounce and take the lead later to secure another victory, Hamilton was hugely buoyed by his best result of the season so far in taking the second place.
“I had forgotten what it was like to be at the front and I was grateful for the moment,” explained the Mercedes driver.
“It was very lucky with the rain yesterday to be able to take advantage of it, because our pace [in the dry] is not strong enough to qualify at such a level.
“But I made the most of it, got a good start, then managed to hold off Fernando for a while and widen the gap.
“Honestly, I discovered a lot about the car, which at least gave us an idea of what we needed to improve. I’m so happy to be back here.
Norris had started Saturday’s sprint event in Shanghai from pole position, but failed to come through the lights as well as his compatriot Hamilton, who came into him at the entrance to the first turn.
Hamilton hugged the inside line throughout the long right-hander, while Norris tried to hang on to the outside before losing grip off the line and leaving the circuit, losing the order in the process.
Given McLaren’s high pace throughout Friday, Hamilton believes Norris should have been smarter in giving up his place and finishing second, before biding his time to retake the lead later.
Speaking about the Turn 1 battle with Norris, Hamilton said: “Obviously I got a good start and I had the inside line.
“He tried to hold the outside line and he was just pushing as hard as he could. I used everything to try to maintain that position, and eventually I think he ended up on the outside.
“There’s a point where, if you go a little too far, there’s no more grip.
“In this scenario he should have just conceded and parked behind me. I probably would have had the pace to surpass myself [later].”
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
With Norris out of sight, Hamilton was in the lead, and he was able to gain a small advantage over Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in the early stages of the race.
And although world champion Max Verstappen recovered from a difficult first few laps to pounce and take the lead later to secure another victory, Hamilton was hugely buoyed by his best result of the season so far in taking the second place.
“I had forgotten what it was like to be at the front and I was grateful for the moment,” explained the Mercedes driver.
“It was very lucky with the rain yesterday to be able to take advantage of it, because our pace [in the dry] is not strong enough to qualify at such a level.
“But I made the most of it, got a good start, then managed to hold off Fernando for a while and widen the gap.
“Honestly, I discovered a lot about the car, which at least gave us an idea of what we needed to improve. I’m so happy to be back here.