F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Scolds Mercedes Over "Poor" Communication During Belgian GP Sprint Shootout

Lewis Hamilton has scolded the Mercedes team for poor communication during the Belgian GP Sprint Shootout.

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has reflected on his disappointing P7 finish during the Belgian Grand Prix sprint shootout, claiming that "communication is pretty poor" from the Mercedes team. 

At one moment during SQ3, the British driver took provisional pole position and he felt he could have put in a faster time. However, he got caught up in traffic and was also potentially impeded by his own teammate George Russell. 

During his post-sprint shootout interview with the media, Hamilton explained:

"[I'm] not happy about it obviously. It was a really fun session and it was looking great at the end, then I obviously had that lap which put me in P1 and I think I could have gone quicker. I reckon I could have been first or second in that session if it wasn't for that last lap. 

"Communication was pretty poor, it's difficult to understand, we got to the last corner and there was seven cars or whatever it was trundling around. We were led to believe that we didn't have any more time left which is why we were pushing, but it turns out we had plenty of time. 

"And then obviously with George [Russell]... it's just the way it is."

When asked to further elaborate on what happened with Russell, Hamilton responded:

"I mean I was letting him... well, it doesn't really matter."

The positives from Hamilton are that he confirmed the W14 felt great and that his aim for later is to obviously move as far forward up the grid as he can. 

Max Verstappen is starting the Sprint Race from pole position followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri who will start the race from second-position.