Mika Hakkinen says he can understand why Mercedes issued a ’team order’ towards the end of the Spanish grand prix.
After the Barcelona race, championship leader Lewis Hamilton claimed he "ignored" his team’s advice to bring the car home rather than try to chase down teammate Nico Rosberg.
"I’m here to race, not to finish second, so naturally I ignored that," the Briton said afterwards.
"I’ll definitely be making sure that it’s not said again," Hamilton added.
But former two-time world champion Hakkinen said he can understand why Mercedes issued the order.
"Overloading the engine at that point would not have been wise," the Finn said in his latest interview with Hermes.
"I fully understand why the team asked him to save the car. They didn’t say it because they didn’t want Lewis to win — the reason was technical."