After a disappointing qualifying on Friday for the Formula 1 Miami GPwithout Lewis Hamilton nor the teammate, George Russell, managed to leave SQ2. The seven-time champion attributes the result to the reflection of where the Mercedes is currently.
“I feel like we got everything out of the car,” said Hamilton, who will start 12th on the sprint grid, one place behind Russell. “And that’s just our pace. We just have to accept at the moment that we’re seven tenths behind.”
Hamilton said that although the first free practice in Miami went well and the Mercedes looked competitive, the pace simply dropped in qualifying.
“I think the sprint is going to be difficult. I mean, we’re in 12th. So don’t expect too much from there, to be honest. It’s not an easy circuit to overtake or to follow. So just trying to get into the points somehow , if we can.”, projected Hamilton.
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, in the pit lane
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Russell felt that Mercedes were disadvantaged by the fact that their car was not as competitive on the medium tyres, which were mandatory for the first segments of qualifying.
“In practice, the soft tire felt really good on our car,” he explained. “The pace was good; I think it was P4. Then, in the middle, we just couldn’t hit the sweet spot and found ourselves on the wrong side.”
“We shouldn’t be in a position to be so close to the shore to get cut off. And yes, we need to work overnight and make some improvements for the main classification.”
“I have no doubt that we will advance in the sprint. We need to try to overcome our qualifying problems. It’s always difficult to fight with the cars in front when we start on the back foot.”
