He worked late on Friday after a bad freestyle, and on Saturday he hardly thought he could fight for Barcelona’s first row. Lewis Hamilton was upset with fifth place, but was excited about Mercedes’ improvement.
“The car was … like a car” Lewis Hamilton’s thoughtful statement about his Mercedes at the end of Friday’s disappointing Spanish Grand Prix was. His smile and silence didn’t predict they could achieve a great result in Barcelona with the renewed W14 in Monaco, but on Saturday the dice turned and the seven-time world champion finished fifth in the qualifying session even after his mistake in Q3 he was on the front row was upset of his place.
How different their situation is from what he expected on Friday, Hamilton has already felt during the time trial. “It was fun because during training I was thinking: Hell, yesterday I said I wasn’t going to make Q3 or a top ten. I basically got my word for it… It was a really cool experience! And it’s very encouraging to be so competitive. The times we’ve been fighting for the top three.” he said smiling F1 TVto.
British Sky SportsMeanwhile, he explained:
“First of all I was totally shocked today. It’s a real surprise to me that we’re still so far ahead and basically struggled for the first grade. But through the night we worked really well, we analyzed, I worked a lot too, I was here until 11pm, trying Finding time. When I got up in the morning, I knew I was on a mission… But whatever! I didn’t at all expect that we would fight for the first grade.”
“The car really came to life today from third free practice. And I think in the end it was because of the package as a whole, so a big thank you to everyone at the factory! You can see we are getting better, which is good to see. And it was a pleasure to drive the car today.”
His joy was mixed with some bitterness, because he knew that Mercedes was more than fifth.
“My last lap wasn’t a dream lap. I was basically second until I was ten, and then I slipped and lost twenty.”
“So, on the one hand, I’m broke, on the other hand, I’m so grateful that we were in the fight, that we had the speed. The team did a great job fixing the car.”
By the way, it wasn’t just the 10th shift that caught my eye. Fernando Alonso also lost his chance at front row there by falling back. “When I turned 10, I stepped on the gas and the car crossed the line and skidded. I still have to see exactly what happened, but I lost twenty here.” Said Hamilton, who was less than ten times behind second-placed Carlos Sainz.
Lewis Hamilton (Photo: XPB)The bottom line:
“I’m not terribly disappointed. If I was fighting for the championship, I would be, but I’m even more excited about the fact that our car is here. Hopefully, we’ll be ahead tomorrow.”
As for the sequel, Hamilton made a bold statement. “My goal is to win. Somehow… I’m going to try to do it while wearing the wheels off the car too! I’m trying to get as high as I can.” – deliberately indicated that nothing would depend on it.
Of course, he clearly understands that victory cannot be expected from them yet. Anyway, his mentality shows: He was really excited about improving the car.
