The opportunity was great, perhaps not to snatch pole position, but certainly to be there, in front of everyone, to fight with Red Bull and Ferrari. Mercedes today, perhaps even a little surprisingly, had a really great pace on the Austrian circuit of the Red Bull Ring. But on the track that bears the name of the arch-rivals, the two silver arrows of Hamilton and Russell will start tomorrow’s Sprint race only from the tenth and fifth position respectively. In fact, both riders finished their Friday against the protective barriers.
The former Williams driver, at least, made a mistake on his second attempt. A good first ‘run’ had secured him, allowing him to lock down the third row. Hamilton, on the other hand, ended up in the gravel, also quite dangerously, during his first timed lap of Q3. The seven-time world champion today seemed to have the pace to be able to play the pole start with the two Ferraris and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Unfortunately, however, # 44 lost control of his W13 in the section of Turn 7 and flew into the protective barriers.
Already immediately via radio The Hammer, after making it clear that he was fine, apologized to the team for what was a clear driving error. In the post-qualifying interviews, however, the most successful driver in F1 history didn’t discount, reiterating his regret for having wasted a potential excellent chance. “I am incredibly disappointed in myself and feel sorry for the team”The laconic comment given to Sky Sports F1 by the native of Stevenage, whose departure from the track was unfortunately also accompanied by the censurable cheers of some Max Verstappen fans. “We were fighting for the top three – concluded Hamilton – I don’t have an answer as to what happened. I just lost the rear at turn 7 and that’s it “.
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