Lewis Hamilton admitted he was “used to” being disqualified from George Russell after losing out at the Mexico City Grand Prix, despite his Mercedes team-mate using the floor of a significantly older car.
Mercedes introduced the new floor at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix, but with both drivers struggling with the W15, Russell crashed in qualifying and had to return to a repeat of the floor’s first run at the British race in July for Sunday’s race in Austin. Grand Prix.
The Briton then crashed again in second practice in Mexico on Friday and was forced to revert to an older version of the floor first introduced at the Miami Grand Prix in May, but still managed to better Hamilton by three-tenths of a second as they qualified fifth and sixth;
Russell’s lead over Hamilton in qualifying now stands at 15-5 for the season, the seven-time world champion’s last at Mercedes before joining Ferrari next year.
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Highlights from Saturday’s qualifying at the Mexico City GP.
“I lose all the time, that’s why I’ve been so bad in qualifying all year,” said Hamilton. Sky Sports F1. “It’s normal and I’m used to it.
“We did everything, we worked as much in the background, as everyone does, to get the car to a good place.
“We felt good in the final practice, so we were like, ‘Let’s not touch anything or do anything.’ All we changed was the rear wing and it’s just a drastic difference.
“Every time I qualify, the car is completely different. I can’t say exactly why, but it is what it is.”
George Russell (R) has a 15-5 lead over Lewis Hamilton in the 2024 qualifying battle.
Hamilton has been much more competitive on Sundays and leads Russell by 10 points in the drivers’ standings with five races remaining in the 2024 season.
Looking at Hermanos Rodríguez’s race at the Autodromo, Hamilton added: “Maybe Georgie is more comfortable with the old kit. I don’t know, we’ll see. We read well what is best.”
Russell: It was one of my best laps this season
Despite his impressive qualifying form this season, Russell went into the session under pressure following his two heavy crashes which forced Mercedes mechanics to work through the night to get his car ready for Saturday’s sessions.
“The district was really, really strong,” Russell said Sky Sports F1. “After everything that happened (on Friday) and after Austin, it’s been a whirlwind for us the last couple of weeks and now we’re running on a floor that we brought to Miami 14 races ago to only be a tenth off P3 there. to was really strong and I’m pretty happy with it.
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“Mercedes” driver George Russell crashed massively into the barriers during the second practice of the Mexican Grand Prix.
“We’re in Miami right now. Obviously, it all has to do with my own issues and incidents that I’ve had. It’s a lot of pressure on the team, they did a great job in Austin to get the car sorted, they did. Great job last night, it puts a lot of pressure on everyone in the factory.
“So I’m a bit disappointed with myself on that side, but I’m pushing the limits and trying to get more out of this car. Now maybe we should just accept that we are the fourth fastest team. have to qualify seventh and eighth, today we qualified fifth and sixth so it should be a good day.”
As for how he was able to finish by such a significant margin over Hamilton, Russell believed he produced one of his best laps of the season.
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Sky F1’s Martin Brundle was on the edge of the ride to see the damage George Russell did to his Mercedes after his massive crash in P2 in Mexico.
“Lewis and I were really close throughout the session, I don’t know what happened to him at the end,” the Briton added.
“I was really happy with my lap, I think it was one of my best this season.
“At the end of the day I was still half a second or so off pole, but we know that from one session to the next, if we take yesterday as an example, I was the fastest two laps we did in FP1 and FP2. were P10. So it’s not just about upgrades.
Bernie: The younger Russell should have a better response than Hamilton
Response to Hamilton’s post-session interview, Sky Sports F1 pundit and former Aston Martin head of racing strategy Bernie Collins analyzed the 39-year-old’s struggles.
“I think qualifying has been a struggle for Lewis especially this season,” Collins said.
“George is doing better, but then they’re much more even in the race. Maybe that’s something you might expect a little bit at the stage they’re at in their career.
“If we look at it that way, George should have faster reactions, which is more important for qualifying. But Lewis is always there or there at the pace of the race. So it’s about conversion on Saturday and it’s sad to see him. disappointed there.”
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Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the first quarter of the United States Grand Prix.
Although Hamilton said on this occasion he had made minimal changes to his car between last practice and qualifying, Collins questioned whether late-week adjustments to the W15 contributed to his lack of lap speed.
“Every now and then when we’re in the pit lane between P3 and qualifying they tear Lewis’ car apart to make some changes and George is quite happy,” said Collins.
“I don’t know if it’s an overreaction between Lewis and the engineers to what happened in P3 and George is just more relaxed.
“We talk a lot about letting the track come to you and letting the range change. You don’t need to travel the world based on the P3 rating. So maybe there’s a little bit of that.
“There are such fine edges here that it’s a slight difference in brake or tire temperature that makes it all work together.”
Sky Sports F1 live Mexico GP schedule
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Take a look back at the most dramatic moments from the Mexico City Grand Prix
Sunday October 27
18.30. Grand Prix Sunday. Mexico GP Rally*
20:00. MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX*
22:00. Checkered flag. Mexico City GP reaction
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event (race meeting on Sunday from 19:30)
Formula 1 America’s triple strike continues on Sunday with the Mexico City Grand Prix, with the lights out at 8pm, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership. no contract, cancel anytime
