Lewis Hamilton believes he has made a significant breakthrough in his qualifying pace, attributing it to extensive analysis and understanding of tyre performance.
Hamilton believes he’s ‘found something’ regarding his qualifying pace in F1 after a breakthrough at the Spanish Grand Prix.
In Barcelona, it was only the second time this year that Hamilton outqualified George Russell.
Hamilton converted his third place on the grid into his first podium of the year as Mercedes F1 continues its upward trajectory.
Hamilton trails 8-2 in the qualifying head-to-head against Russell.
Speaking to the media in Austria, Hamilton revealed that a ‘tremendous amount of analysis’ has been conducted to explain his Saturday struggles, and he believes it’s simply down to the tyres.
“We made a breakthrough. There has been a tremendous amount of analysis. I’ve asked the team for a lot of information on how we can improve, on our shortcomings. It’s simply the tyres and their usage and what follows from that. We just need to keep improving our processes session by session, especially once we get to qualifying, things change a bit.”
“The car is obviously lighter, the DRS is used a lot more. Is it okay now? Time will tell. But I believe we’ve found something. Now, we need to build on that.”
Hamilton also believes that the tricky handling of his Mercedes W15 has exacerbated his qualifying issues. The seven-time world champion described this year’s Mercedes as ‘on a knife edge.’
“The car is on a knife edge aerodynamically. It’s not as easy to find a balance with the mechanical side. The aerodynamic balance from high to low speed to get the right setup is difficult.”
“Tyre temperatures and how you do your out laps are crucial. The Ferraris in Montreal didn’t make it out of Q2, for example – that can only be tyre temperatures, but they have a good car, they won the race before that.”
“It just shows it’s not easy to get the tyres working well; they are certainly more sensitive than in any other season I can remember.”
Hamilton’s F1 Qualifying Pace Breakthrough Unveiled. Hamilton’s F1 Qualifying Pace Breakthrough Unveiled
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