Hamilton complains about lack of grip while Russell delighted with improved pace
Mercedes drivers were left with contrasting feelings after the qualifying session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton complained about lack of grip, but his team-mate George Russell was delighted with the improved pace of his upgraded Mercedes W15.
Following a strong first day in Imola, Lewis Hamilton was left puzzled by the lack of grip in the qualifying session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion was almost knocked out in Q1, but he eventually made it through into the final segment. However, he only took eighth, having failed to match his team-mate George Russell's Q3 lap time.
"The car felt really good on Friday but today, I was struggling to find that same level of grip. It was frustrating and I think the small changes we made going into Qualifying had quite a big impact. George did a great job though and for him to be only four tenths off pole is clearly a good step forward for us. Unfortunately I was just lacking some pace so couldn’t quite match that.
"Tomorrow we are likely looking at trying to make up a few positions. We will do some work tonight to see if we can improve anything but it’s very hard to overtake here so, unless something out of the ordinary happens, we will only be able to make small gains."
Fine margins out there in Qualifying. Let's see what we can do tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/rH8JHusFtc
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 18, 2024
On the other side of the garage, Russell was left positively surprised by the improved pace of his upgraded W15. The Briton was only four tenths of a second off pole-sitter Max Verstappen's benchmark which has confirmed Mercedes' development work in the last two races.
"I was very happy with my final effort in Q3. It was a really strong lap and overall, it was a good session from my point of view. It is obviously annoying when you are one millisecond behind one of your competitors, but I think that was the maximum we had today. I think P6 is therefore a fair result. It is very difficult to pass here so unfortunately, I’m not forecasting lots of overtakes tomorrow. I hope to be proven wrong though and we can gain some positions.
"The car is feeling much better than it has done in recent races. Of course it is all about lap times, so we just need to keep working away and improving. We’ve seen how others have progressed and that gives us encouragement."
