Lewis Hamilton thought it would be better to start from the pit lane at the US Grand Prix to give him the freedom to change his set-up for Sunday’s race after a “nightmarish” qualifying session that saw him finish 18th on the grid. There is.
The six-time American Grand Prix winner (five of those wins came at the Circuit of the Americas) set the 19th fastest time out of 20 drivers in Saturday’s first qualifying stage. However, it was an unexpected defeat. RB Liam Lawson picked up an engine penalty and will start from 18th.
Hamilton’s shocking early retirement came amid a miserable Saturday for Mercedes in Austin.
Despite showing promise on Friday’s first run of the season’s final upgrade package, the team suffered a disappointing 19-lap sprint race from Hamilton and teammate George Russell earlier in the day. I went to the qualifying round on Saturday. They struggled with tire wear and finished 6th and 5th respectively.
Hamilton then retired early in qualifying for Sunday’s full race, and Russell, who was provisionally sixth on the grid, crashed late in Q3 and ended his session in the barrier.
After suffering his first Q1 exit on his 12th visit to Austin, Hamilton revealed his day was overshadowed by a mechanical problem on his way to the grid for the sprint.
“In the sprint, we had some trouble with the front suspension from the formation lap,” Hamilton explained.
“I felt like that the whole sprint race. It made my balance really difficult.
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Highlights of Saturday qualifying for the US GP.
“We changed a few things and we were able to go in the direction we needed to go yesterday. The car was a nightmare in qualifying.
“Maybe we should start from the pit lane, otherwise we won’t get anywhere from where we are.”
Teams will trigger an automatic pit lane start for their cars if they take them out of the post-qualifying ‘parc fermé’, if they choose or need to, to make fundamental changes to their set-up.
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George Russell has expressed his dissatisfaction with his car after crashing into the wall during Q3 of the US Grand Prix.
As well as overhauling the W15, Mercedes may change the car’s wing settings to give Hamilton a chance to overtake and take a turn for the points.
Hamilton and Russell both started their final attempts for Q1 in the drop zone after failing to record competitive times on the first set of soft tires they used. However, while Russell, who changed to new tires on the final run, advanced to Q2 in fourth place, Hamilton’s initially promising lap start completely collapsed when he ran wide under braking at Turn 12.
Russell apologizes, says Mercedes’ car set-up is ‘nowhere else’
Mercedes managed to get one car into the top 10 on the grid thanks to Russell’s performance, but the result ultimately offered little consolation to the team or drivers given the way the 26-year-old’s session ended. There wasn’t.
Russell, who was trying to move up the grid on his final Q3 attack, lost control of his car around Turn 19, the penultimate corner, and spun off the track, crashing sideways into the barriers and crashing into his upgraded car. caused great damage.
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George Russell has expressed his dissatisfaction with his car after crashing into the wall during Q3 of the US Grand Prix.
Russell, who climbed W15 on his own, admitted he may have pushed himself too hard at the end of what was initially a promising lap and was starting to pull away from him.
“It was a great lap until Turn 12, I was up four-and-a-half seconds,” Russell said.
“Like Lewis yesterday, I was a little bit behind at Turn 12 and then lost a lot of lap time. I was still probably about 10 seconds faster than the previous lap.
“I turned in and went into the penultimate corner and then something hit me and caught me off guard. Maybe I was pushing too hard.
“I’m pretty disappointed with the damage we’ve done to the car and the work that’s going to be done tonight, and I’m also a bit confused that Lewis and I were both fighting for pole yesterday and we’re nowhere to be found today.”
Russell apologized to his team for the crash, adding: “I felt like the car wasn’t that cohesive, but yesterday the pace was coming easily. Today it wasn’t like that.”
“The theme seems to be that if you find the sweet spot, you can get a car that can get pole position and win. When you can’t do that, you’re nowhere to be found.”
“I feel sorry for the team. They’ve worked hard to make these upgrades happen and I’m really disappointed in how this turned out.”
Sky Sports F1 American GP Live Schedule
Sunday, October 20th
6:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: US GP Build-up*
8pm: American Grand Prix*
10pm: Checkered flag: American Grand Prix reaction
11pm: Ted’s Notes
*Live coverage of the main event on Sky Sports (race coverage from 7:15pm on Sunday)
Watch the American Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from 8pm on Sunday with the build-up from 6.30pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership – cancel anytime with no contract
