Belgian Grand Prix: Hamilton’s car lets him down again
The seven-times world champion was not alone in scratching his head at the perceived lack of performance
F 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton described the qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix as a “kick in the teeth” after finishing the day nearly two seconds off the pace in what appeared to be a step backwards for Mercedes.
The seven-times world champion was not alone in scratching his head at the perceived lack of performance, with Ferrari also bewildered after Max Verstappen produced a superb lap in his Red Bull that was more than sixth-tenths of a second quicker than anyone else.
A new technical directive has been introduced this weekend which had led to speculation that it would rein in the top team, but Verstappen was well clear of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, who was second fastest.
Verstappen’s lap was not enough for pole position, however. The Dutchman will, in fact, start towards the back of the grid due to a penalty for using too many engine parts.
As it stands, Verstappen should start in 15th place. But despite being so far down the grid, he has still been tipped by his fellow competitors to win at Spa, a track which is known for its overtaking opportunities, and extend his already hefty 80-point lead over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc even further.
Mercedes had arrived here after a run of five podiums from the past five races and Hamilton had been optimistic enough to suggest that a win was not inconceivable, particularly with such a mixed-up grid and with Leclerc joining Verstappen at the back as the Ferrari driver was also subject to an engine penalty.
However, Hamilton left the track saying that he couldn’t wait to see the back of this year’s car.
Neither Hamilton, nor his teammate George Russell, could fathom how the latter had managed to grab pole position at the last race in Hungary, but somehow they were an enormous 1.8 seconds off the pace.
“Everyone’s working for improvements,” Hamilton said. “We came here very optimistic that we could be close, half a second behind, maybe. But to be 1.8 seconds behind is a real kick in the teeth. It’s a car we continue to struggle with and I definitely won’t miss it at the end of the year. For me, it’s just about focusing on how we build and design next year’s car. The other two teams ahead of us are in another league, but our car looks so much different to theirs. So we have a lot of work to do; we will do the best we can with what we have.”
Hamilton qualified seventh but will start fourth after all the penalties are applied, with Russell one spot back. Russell was so pessimistic about the gap to the front that he did not even think that a podium place would be realistic for the team.
“I’m confident we will have a lot more pace tomorrow, but we’re still behind Red Bull and Ferrari,” he said. “I still think Max will win, with the pace he’s got. It’s unlikely we will be on the podium. We need to look at it overnight, try and understand it, and try and be faster tomorrow. [The mood] is not great because we want more than this.”
