Jul.20 (GMM) McLaren boss Ron Dennis on Sunday admitted team strategists made a mistake that could have cost Lewis Hamilton victory at Hockenheim.

While much of the field pitted under the safety car following Timo Glock's violent crash in the middle of the race, leader Hamilton was told to stay on the track.

With a pitstop still to make when the safety car pulled off, Hamilton was told over the radio he had to build a 23-second gap to retain his lead -- in just 7 laps.

"I just kept pushing -- over the limit, pushing and pushing -- but I couldn't find the gap," Hamilton, who established a four point advantage in the drivers' championship with his dominant performance in Germany, told reporters.

After the pitstop, the Briton was let past by his teammate Heikki Kovalainen, and then overtook Ferrari's Felipe Massa and surprise leader Nelson Piquet's Renault.

But when he was behind the safety car, Hamilton admits he questioned McLaren's strategists over the radio.

"I said are you sure about this, and they said fine. But we all have decisions and opinions and we'll learn from this one and move on," he said.

Dennis, McLaren principal, told British broadcaster ITV1 the team got the call wrong.

"We expected the safety car to come in early. We thought the race could have started three laps earlier. You can't get it right all the time," he said.