After the disappointing Sprint Qualifying in Miami, in which both Lewis Hamilton and teammate George Russell were eliminated at the end of SQ2, the seven-time world champion explained that there are no attenuated circumstances for what happened.
On the contrary, he said that being more than half a second from pole position was a fair reflection of Mercedes’ current situation in F1.
“I feel like we’ve got everything out of the car,” said Hamilton, who will start from 12th on the grid today in the Sprint, just behind Russell.
“This is our speed. For the moment we have to accept the fact that we are seven tenths away from the best.”
Hamilton then explained that although Free Practice was going well, giving the feeling that Mercedes was competitive, the pace dropped significantly in qualifying.
“The car looked really good in FP1,” he said. “Then in Sprint Qualifying, I mean, it wasn’t terrible, but it was only seven-tenths off. I think that’s the speed of our car.”
He added: “I think the Sprint will be difficult. I mean, we’re in 12th place. So don’t expect much from there, we have to be honest. It’s not a circuit where it’s easy to overtake or stay close to another car. So let’s just try to get into the points somehow, if it’s possible.”
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, in the pit lane
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
According to Russell, Mercedes was penalized by the fact that its car was not as competitive on the medium tyres, mandatory for the first two segments of qualifying.
“In Free Practice, our car performed well on the soft tyres,” he said. “The pace was good, I think I was fourth. Then, with the mediums, we couldn’t find the right window, so everything was very difficult.”
“We shouldn’t have been in a position to be so close to being eliminated. We need to work overnight to improve our performances ahead of qualifying.”
“I have no doubt that we will make a comeback in the Sprint. However, we must try to resolve our problems in qualifying. It is always difficult to fight with the cars in front of us when we start from behind.”
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