Mercedes F1’s weekend fell apart as Lewis Hamilton struggled with the worst car balance he’s ever experienced, starting from the pits due to a component error and finishing a disappointing ninth.
As often occurred at the start of the season, Mercedes F1 undermined a promising weekend start with changes that had unforeseen effects. Lewis Hamilton finished ninth after starting from the pits because the team reinstalled parts that had been fitted on Friday.
“We had an excellent car on Friday. We made the smallest changes for Saturday. One of the components wasn’t properly constructed. This led us in the wrong direction,” Hamilton lamented.
“We only discovered this at the end of the day. Given that this race was the best one to make the change, they told us it was necessary. We need a new engine because I lost one earlier. We knew the day would be challenging.”
The Briton explained that the balance of his car was precarious, forcing him to adopt an unusual driving style: “It was probably the worst balance I’ve ever had. In fact, I had so much front end and so little at the rear that I had to pull on the steering to break the front grip, sliding the front in every corner.”
“It’s the strangest way of driving I’ve had to adopt. I knew I couldn’t overtake. It’s tough to follow in the middle, but at least to be close in the end. I don’t know why our pace was so off on our side. These things happen.”
Hamilton praised the two drivers who were competing in their second Formula 1 race today and discussed the challenges he faced in the pack: “We also knew it would be difficult to overtake today. Despite the long straight, it’s hard to follow in the second sector.”
“Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman, whom I raced for much of the afternoon, did a very good job. It’s fantastic to see youngsters like them stepping up and performing so well. For their second race, that was quite impressive.”
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Mercedes blunder forces Hamilton to start from pits Mercedes blunder forces Hamilton to start from pits
