Hamilton asked Mercedes to retire from German GP

Lewis Hamilton wanted to retire from Formula 1’s German Grand Prix and asked Mercedes to box his car in the closing stages of the race.

Having endured a nightmare race after picking up front wing damage in a crash and a time penalty, Hamilton, who had battled illness all weekend, was running outside of the points when he spun on Lap 53 and made an unscheduled pit stop, dropping him to the very back of the running order in 15th.

In a radio message that was not originally broadcast but has come to light following the race, Hamilton is heard asking his team to retire his car from the race after his spin.

His race engineer Peter Bonnington replied: "Negative Lewis, Negative. There's always opportunities."

Hamilton ultimately continued on in the race and took the chequered flag in 11th place, before being promoted into the points and up to ninth after both Alfa Romeo drivers were hit with post-race penalties.

The two points, coupled with a non-score for Mercedes teammate and chief title rival Valtteri Bottas following a crash, meant Hamilton ended up extending his championship advantage to 41 points in a race he later described as “probably the worst day I’ve had in the office for a long, long time.”