Credits: IMAGO / PanoramiC
Ever since the 2022 regulations came into effect, Lewis Hamilton has suffered a lot of heartbreak in qualifying. However, he suffered a shocking Q1 exit at the Chinese GP for the first time since the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP. The qualifying outcome in China was especially surprising because of Hamilton’s P2 result a few hours ago in the Sprint race. So, despite carrying momentum, Hamilton could only go 18th fastest in the qualifying session. This was partly due to his mistake at turn 14. Although, Mercedes’ technical director James Allison has assumed some blame and issued an apology.
The team made some changes to the car’s setup ahead of the qualifying session. Additionally, Hamilton took a different approach to the qualifying run plan compared to George Russell. Instead of doing a cooldown lap like Russell did, he went for two push laps consecutively. This was one of the primary reasons behind the horrible outcome as Hamilton later admitted he needed another lap.
On the latest race debrief video on Mercedes’ official YouTube page, Allison highlighted the team’s failure to put Hamilton on the right run plan. He also highlighted the setup gave the Brit a lot of understeer and made it easier for the car to lock up under braking.
Discussing this, Allison said, “He (Lewis Hamilton) would hold his hand up and say, ‘My mistake, my error’. I think we would be a little more rounded and say we should have actually encouraged more strongly that he was pursuing a program a bit more like George’s, so that’s our mistake. We should frankly be making a car that is just not so tricky as the one we’ve got at the moment.”
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Allison also added the unpredictable nature of the W15 which is making the drivers make mistakes. Mistakes that are uncharacteristic of the seven-time champion. However, the Mercedes maestro isn’t letting anyone share the blame.
Lewis Hamilton assumes the blame for his Turn 14 error in qualifying
After a brilliant performance in the Sprint race, Lewis Hamilton had high hopes for the qualifying session that followed. Mercedes was allowed to change the setup and was hoping to build on the momentum. However, the Briton exited a qualifying session in Q1 for the first time in almost two years.
Hamilton admitted it was his overestimation of the braking power at Turn 14 that cost him the precious seconds. He also admitted he perhaps needed one more lap. However, the #44 driver made a brilliant recovery run in the race to secure a P9 finish starting from P18. Although, Hamilton was struggling even during the race and facing issues with the pace despite starting on softs.
“I thought maybe at the beginning that I’d tapped someone, because I’ve never had so much understeer in my life, so I was turning in the low-speed and just waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting,” he said as quoted on F1’s official website.
Despite the poor start and output toward the end of the weekend, the seven-time champion was grateful for the points. Now looking ahead, even though he’s had the worst start to a season, he expects a few steps forward in Miami. The Brit is hoping the team back in Brackley will position the car a bit better for the upcoming race.
