Lewis Hamilton began the Chinese Grand Prix in the eighteenth position and finished ninth. Mercedes gave an explanation of why Hamilton was only able to achieve that finish after the race.
As Mercedes provided an explanation for yet another lackluster performance for the seven-time Formula One champion, Lewis Hamilton battled with tire temperatures.
Hamilton dominated the Sprint race on Saturday and has a stellar record at the Chinese Grand Prix. However, he had a terrible qualifying session and was stuck in 18th place for the main event.
Despite making minimal progress during his first stint, he managed to get by thanks to some safety car chaos. At the end, he was trying to catch Oscar Piastri, but he was just not able to catch up to the McLaren.
George Russell, a teammate, finished sixth, but neither of them was able to contend with teams like Red Bull and Ferrari. Mercedes gave a post-race explanation of what transpired from their perspective.
“From where we started, the final result was close to the maximum with the car we had today,” the team said in a statement. George’s primary goal was to remove Piastri and [Fernando] Alonso, which he accomplished. Alonso didn’t end up being a threat because of a solid last period of controlling the deterioration.
Lewis had trouble with the rear tire temperature the entire race, probably because of the car’s unbalance. Although he was fortunate to have the safety cars, he was ultimately unlucky not to take P8 at the end, as he was unable to fully enter Piastri’s DRS range.
“This past weekend was full of contrasts. Although it’s likely that the drastic adjustments implemented following the Sprint didn’t help, we managed to compete in races against the McLarens, Ferraris, and Alonso’s Aston Martin.”
After the race, Hamilton said that finishing ninth was about as good a finish as he could have imagined. “I’m thankful just to get into the points,” he remarked. Sincerely, this weekend, I wasn’t expecting much more.”
“Hopefully, we have a step forward coming at the next race,” Hamilton continued, hinting at Mercedes upgrades for the Miami Grand Prix next month. Next week, when we return to the factory, we’ll work to better position the car for Miami and, hopefully, enjoy a better weekend.”
“Considering where we put the cars, overall for the drivers and the team it was not a good position for today,” stated team principal Toto Wolff. Overall, not up to par. Because of our slow pace, we must exert great effort. We have an upcoming project for Miami that appears to be a positive step; let’s see where it leads.”
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