Lewis Hamilton endured a miserable qualifying session in Las Vegas as he failed to make the Q3 cut.
George Russell showcased his personality as a team player at Mercedes during qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The 25-year-old was left swearing in the cockpit after discovering that team-mate Lewis Hamilton had been eliminated during the second phase of the session.
After a terrible weekend in Brazil the previous time around, Mercedes performed better early in the weekend, which was critical for the team. After that appalling performance at Interlagos, the Silver Arrows’ lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship was reduced to just 20 points.
Following Charles Leclerc’s commanding pole position ahead of Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz on Saturday, that lead may now be reduced even further. Mercedes’ only reprieve will come from a ten-place grid penalty for switching to a new power unit following a disastrous incident in Formula One.
Russell asked, “Where’s Lewis?” over the team radio at the conclusion of the second quarter. He snapped, “F***,” in response to hearing that his teammate had dropped to 11th place and was consequently out of the running.
After his early withdrawal from qualifying, Hamilton was likewise irritated. After being eliminated in the second round, the seven-time world champion admitted that he “couldn’t go faster.” This marks the 38-year-old’sthirdQ2 exit of the year after underwhelming performances in Zandvoort and Miami.
At least Toto Wolff and the team in the Mercedes garage had something to be happy about. Russell had a well-run session and qualified fourth on the grid in Q3, building on his P3 finish in Q2. Because of Sainz’s upcoming penalty, he will start the race in third place.
Even with this reprieve, the Mercedes camp is still in a depressing mood. Team principal Wolff said of his team’s pace in an interview with Sky Sports F1: “It’s still a mystery. keeping the tires positioned correctly.
“There is a noticeable difference. Free Practice 3 was where we first witnessed it. extremely challenging to comprehend. Lewis was gripping nothing. We are measuring the temperature differential between grip and no grip as being four or five degrees.
It’s evident that certain teams, such as McLaren, who typically finish first, are eliminated in the first round. Conversely, the Ferraris ran incredible lap times. They were both thirty seconds ahead of schedule.”
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