In a sport where every millisecond counts, Lewis Hamilton’s recent performance at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix stands out—not just for placing him third, his best qualifying rank this season, but also for the challenges it underscored within his Mercedes team. Despite this achievement, Hamilton reported a feeling of lost potential with his Mercedes W15, often feeling outpaced just when pushing for that extra bit of performance.
The 7-time champion managed to out-qualify his teammate George Russell, which strategically positioned both Mercedes drivers on the second row, in third and fourth place respectively. This marked only the second occasion in the season where Hamilton edged out Russell in qualifying. However, he still trailed behind the pole sitter, Lando Norris from McLaren, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, underscoring a competitive but not dominant pace.
“I still feel like I lost performance going into qualifying,” he told the press in Spain. “It’s all about perspective, so maybe they just moved forwards. But I definitely feel like there was a little bit more. But just as you start to push the car, it doesn’t like it. In practice, when you leave a little bit of margin, the car feels quite nice. But it’s when you start to really lean on it to try and get that extra bit of lap time out where we really struggle.”
The initial hiccup with tyre warmers in FP1, according to Hamilton, cost him significantly. An issue with the blankets left him “seven-tenths down,” a disadvantage that was rectified in later sessions but had already set a less-than-ideal start. “I think it’s all in the tires,” Hamilton mentioned, reflecting on the setback. “You saw in P1 I was seven-tenths down due to an issue with the blankets. We got it sorted for the following sessions but it puts you a bit on the back foot.”
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 21, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. Hamilton will start from…
Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Delving deeper into the technical challenges, Hamilton shared that the car’s reaction to aggressive driving was less than favorable:
“But just as you start to push the car, it doesn’t like it. In practice, when you leave a little bit of margin, the car feels quite nice. But it’s when you start to really lean on it to try and get that extra bit of lap time out where we really struggle.”
Looking forward, Hamilton was cautiously optimistic about his chances in the race, focusing keenly on tire degradation and strategy.
“It’s all about degradation tomorrow and how we look after the tires. So we won’t know until we get into that first run,” he explained.
Moreover, Hamilton pointed out the significant threat from the Ferraris, which had recently received upgrades and demonstrated strong long-run practice sessions.
“I think their long run pace looked quite strong, so I think it’s more working together as a team and try and hold position at least,” he said.
Ultimately, Hamilton conveyed a mixture of determination and realism about the upcoming challenges, summarizing his position and readiness. “If we happen to have more pace available to us and we’re able to hold onto these guys, then it’s game on. But we really won’t know until tomorrow and degradation is always the key here.”
As strategies unfold and tyres hit the asphalt, all eyes will be on Hamilton and Mercedes to see if they can translate qualifying positions into podium finishes.
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Source : Newsweek