On Friday, Sergio Pérez was on the wrong track, and on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton became the biggest victim of the track limits. The Briton could only start the afternoon sprint from 18th place.
Lewis Hamilton was hoping for a better Saturday after finishing fifth in qualifying on Friday, but he had a big crash at the end of the fall. The Mercedes driver had to get out of his Mercedes and out of the fight at the end of Q1: he had only secured a place in the sprint race on the penultimate starting row.
The seven-time world champion was caught by the limits of the track, and unfortunate timing. With his original lap of 1:06.624 seconds, Hamilton could have easily led from Q1 in fifth place, but when he left the track with four wheels at the final corner, his result was nullified.
At the start, he ran another fast lap, but managed to get better. At the start of his lap, he was behind Max Verstappen, who was finishing a fast lap. In addition, he was not satisfied with the choice of tires either, as he was sent on used softs. “Wrong tire use! I’m out, right?” he asked in frustration, anticipating the answer as he waved the checkered flag.
“timing” He named Hamilton the main reason for his exclusion.
And he indicated that he’s not overly concerned about Q1 chaos.
“Yeah, it’s a sprint race, which doesn’t really matter anyway.” he said laughing. “Today I’m just trying to enjoy from the end of the field. It’s what it is. I don’t feel anything about it… It was nice to stay in the race, but it just didn’t work out today.”
Lewis Hamilton (Photo: Mercedes)“I have nothing to say” – answered when asked what they would discuss with the team. “We just mind our job. I can easily be a lot ahead now, but at the moment I’m just trying to have fun from the back of the field.”
Russell: This is not the weekend!
Mercedes is having a really gray day. George Russell was eliminated due to a technical foul in Q2 with no time. He must hold out from grid #15 in the afternoon.
It was hydraulics. Russell confirmed that this was the reason he remained in the garage.
“It’s a pity because we were going at a strong pace, on the medium tire I was fourth or fifth. I think I could have been in the top five in Q3. This isn’t just the weekend. We’ll see what we can do in the afternoon.” Next week we will try to come back stronger.”
He added that he expects a tough sprint as if the track doesn’t heat up, tire wear won’t play a role and that could make things difficult if the DRS train develops. “I’m more optimistic about Sunday. From 11th, we have a good chance of moving up in that area. It’s that kind of weekend. It’s not going the way we want it to.” Russell said.
