Out of the top-5
Mercedes disappointing in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as demonstrated by the results that constituted tomorrow's starting grid. In fact, both drivers from the Brackley company occupy the entire fourth row, with George Russell 7th and Lewis Hamilton 8th. The seven-time world champion also pays for more than a tenth of a delay from his teammate, but not only that.
The risk in Q2
For alone 36 thousandthsthe Briton also risked elimination from Q2 in favor of his compatriot Oliver Bearman, making his absolute debut in F1 as an official driver with Ferrari replacing Carlos Sainz. A negative day therefore for the entire team and in particular for the #44, even if there remains hope for an evolution in the race pace, however complex:
“Today was a very difficult day – commented the future Ferrari driver – I was much happier in FP3 and the car was much better than on Thursday. It was a real improvement and I had a lot more confidence in the car. Unfortunately, in qualifying, the feeling was similar to that of yesterday and I didn't have the stability the car I needed. It was a struggle and we lost especially in the first high speed sector. Our race pace is usually better than qualifying. We were also fast on the straight, so hopefully that helps us. Will be difficult, but we will give our best to progress tomorrow. If we could do it, would be great“.
My fault
A different comment, at least on the chapter relating to improvement in the race, expressed by Russell, almost a second behind the pole scored by Max Verstappen: “Unfortunately I wasn't able to complete the last lap with new tyres – he added – I made a mistake, which is my fault, and that's it. My fastest lap was therefore on used tyres. It was a good lap, but if I had completed my last effort, I believe we could have fought for P4 or even a higher place. The track is very narrow and last week we saw that if you can't do everything together you can lose several positions. We are still learning about this car; we were first and second in testing in Bahrain and second here yesterday. Today we have slipped backwards, but there is no lack of potential. The season is long, so we will try to better understand the platform we have and get more consistent results. I am convinced that we have a good race pace for tomorrow. We seem fast in a straight line, which is a plus. It's hard to follow here, though, and should be a simple one-stop with degradation. We need to get a good start and see what we can do from there.”
#Hamilton #stability #improving #race #fantastic
