Mercedes faces mixed fortunes in Hungary as Hamilton holds strong while Russell encounters setbacks.
Lewis Hamilton salvaged a fifth-place finish in qualifying at the Hungaroring.
The Briton’s Mercedes F1 lacked the pace to compete with McLaren or Max Verstappen today, but he managed to slot in between the two Ferraris.
As predicted by his chief race engineer, Andy Shovlin, the W15 is unlikely to contend for victory here tomorrow.
“We came here aiming to lead, and one can never be satisfied.”
“I think we did a good job, and we did everything we could.”
“We positioned the car fairly well, but in the heat, we’re not particularly fast.”
“When the session began, it was much cooler, and we were quick. As soon as the temperature rose, the others sped up, and we slowed down—or at least, we didn’t speed up.”
George Russell fell victim to an error in Q1 during his fast lap before suffering from his team’s mistake. He will start 17th tomorrow, or 16th if Perez is forced to start from the pit lane.
“There are two factors. I didn’t do a good enough job at the start, which is why I ended up in 15th place.”
“Then, we put on new tires at the end, left a bit early, and didn’t have enough fuel to finish the session. I was on the track when it was raining and when it was dry, I ran out of fuel.”
“So, it was a disaster on both fronts. We should have comfortably made it through that final lap, but we ran out of fuel. So, as I said, it was my fault to be in that position in the first place.”
He stated that the team would review the error with the timing and/or fuel.
“It wasn’t up to our usual standard, that’s for sure. We need to review this. I have to understand what happened on my part at the start, but having enough fuel to make it to the flag at the end of the session is crucial. So, as a team, we made a significant mistake.”
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Hamilton Rallies Russell Falters at Hungarian GP Hamilton Rallies Russell Falters at Hungarian GP
