“Same Saturday as always”: Lewis Hamilton frustrated after poor qualifying session in Baku
Lewis Hamilton’s biggest rival this season is not Max Verstappen or George Russell, it is his own failures in qualifying sessions ahead of big races.
It was a familiar sight once again as the Briton struggled to make ends meet due to tyre temperature in qualifying. At the Baku City Circuit, he was able to come only seventh on the grid, and this has been a recurring theme in the season at this point.
Hamilton yet again was unable to get ahead of teammate George Russell, who finished at fifth himself. After 2014, this is now just the second time in his F1 career that the 39-year-old has lost to a teammate head-to-head in qualifying.
“Honestly, I think it could have been at least second row today” : Lewis Hamilton was disappointed yet again
After a tough session for the Silver Arrows duo due to their continuing struggle with tyre temperature and traffic, they will now start the race on Sunday from the third and fourth rows. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc will be starting at pole position and surprisingly, Max Verstappen will not be far from Hamilton, as he finished at sixth.
Lewis Hamilton after yet another disappointing qualifying session seemed in no mood for interviews, as he admitted that the team was looking to start at least at the second row. The Briton had a brief analysis on what happened on the circuit.
“Same Saturday as always. Same thing that happens every Saturday. Yesterday the car was amazing, felt great. Honestly, I think it could have been at least second row today. Came today, the tyres didn’t work all day,” said the 39-year-old in an interview with Sky Sports.
Although the chances of getting pole position on Sunday’s race have been hindered yet again for the Briton, he tried to remain optimistic and believes that the team has a different strategy for tyres than others, which may help him to have a better day.
“Qualifying was disappointing as we had a good day yesterday and I thought we could be in the fight for the front two rows. Unfortunately, I was struggling to get the tyres working and that is what it is all about. We will analyse why that was as a team and hopefully make improvements moving forward.” said the Briton (via mercedesamgf1.com)
“The aim is to move forward tomorrow, and I am staying positive that we can do so. It is not always easy to progress here, but we have a slightly different tyre strategy to others which may help us. We will also have to look after the tyres as it is easy to suffer with the rears. If we can do so, then hopefully we can have a better day than we had today,” the seven-time world champion added.
It would almost be a miracle for Hamilton and co. to pull off pole positions on Sunday and they have just the overnight to prepare on their tactics. But the German team will soon have to figure out their core problems as the season is about to reach its business end.
