In Qatar, Lewis Hamilton caused a lot of conversation with his statements. Even after qualifying for the Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion seemed confused when talking about his performance.
For Lewis Hamilton, the weekend in Qatar is not going as planned. After qualifying in the sprint, the Mercedes star was more than a tenth slower than team-mate George Russell. He finished the mini race in sixth place – he crossed the finish line by more than five seconds. behind his stablemate, who came third.
A few hours later, Russell was again ahead in GP qualifying. He turned the second lap fast and was almost half a second off the best time of the seven-time world champion, who finished sixth. Thanks to Max Verstappen’s penalty, the younger of the two Mercedes drivers can even start the race from pole.
Hamilton has a tougher task to overcome from sixth on the grid. And he can’t explain why his performance is so bad compared to his teammate’s, as he revealed on “Sky Sports F1”. “I can’t say why I’m half a second slower than my partner.”
“This has never happened to me in my entire career, so I can’t explain it,” added the GP record winner, looking confused. “All I can say is that the car felt good. I gave it everything and the car felt good, but the walking time was slow.
On Friday evening, Hamilton surprised everyone by saying that he was no longer in a hurry. Asked the day after the race what he meant, he shrugged: “I’m not trying to mean anything, that’s how I felt on Friday.” I’ll get up the next morning and try again.”
And the 105-time GP winner added: “I didn’t feel good in this car all year. I’ve never had a car whose balance is so unpredictable. And nothing we’ve done has solved the problem. I know I’m still fast and I’m fighting things I can’t control.”
GP-Graduation, Qatar
01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:20,520 minutes*
02. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:20,575
03. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:20.772
04. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:20.829
05. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:20,852
06. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:21,011
07. Carlos Sainz (L), Ferrari, 1:21.041
08. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, 1:21.251
09. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:21,425
10. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1:21.500
11. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, 1:21,437
12. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, 1:21,501
13. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, 1:21.731
14. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:21,771
15. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:21,911
16. Alex Albon (T), Williams, 1:22,390
17. Liam Lawson (NZ), Racing Bulls, 1:22,411
18. Nico Hulkenberg (D), Haas, 1:22.442
19. Franco Colapinto (RA), Williams, 1:22.594
20. Stephen Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:22.714
*Start from 2nd place due to one place penalty
