Despite falling well short of pole-sitter Max Verstappen in the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying, Lewis Hamilton had plenty to be cheerful about when he spoke following the session.
Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes may have figured out how to make better cars at last.
With W15 vehicles faring far slower than the Red Bulls, who are leading the championship, the Silver Arrows have had a miserable start to the new Formula 1. On the surface, it appeared as though they would continue to struggle with pace in the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying round.
Hamilton maintained his perfect sweep of pole positions, more than 0.5 seconds slower than the pace set by Max Verstappen. During a single lap at Suzuka, George Russell, the teammate, was even more distant from the Dutchman.
After the practice, though, the seven-time F1 champion was grinning and seemed to suggest that Mercedes’ main issue might have been resolved at last. They have been unable to pinpoint the precise reason for their car’s pace disadvantage when compared to other elite competitors, but Hamilton hinted that he might have discovered the solution.
“I was giving it everything, I left it all out there,” he declared. This past week, the team performed incredibly well in comprehending our setup and making the necessary modifications. Actually, this is the first weekend that I haven’t gone berserk with setup and testing, so it’s a little more typical.
“I believe we got the car into a much nicer working window, which has made the driving more pleasurable on every lap. The other guys are marginally quicker. Last year, we were just over a second slower than Red Bull, and seven tenths faster this time around. That was all there was to it; perhaps we could have been a tenth faster with something different.
We now have precise knowledge of the areas where the car is weak. I’m able to tell them to push in a specific area because I can feel it in the car. I’ve had a great time driving this weekend, and I’m hoping the race will be stronger.”
When asked if he thought Mercedes had determined which way they needed to go in the future, he responded, “Yeah, I think so.”
We’ve noticed that it’s been extremely difficult to get the setup just right and that it’s consistently so far out from track to track. Though this weekend is much more of a sweet spot, there were moments when it seemed like there was nothing we could do to get the car in a sweet spot. I therefore hope that holds true in the upcoming races; we simply need to increase performance.”
Red Bull dominated Suzuka qualifying, and Verstappen will be joined on the front row by teammate Sergio Perez for the race on Sunday. While Spanish drivers Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso will also be competing, Lando Norris was the closest to them, stoking hopes of a podium finish for McLaren.
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