Fighting off tough rainy conditions, Lewis Hamilton bagged P2 in sprint qualifying in China. Proving doubters wrong, the Briton carried the same form in the sprint race in dry conditions to hold on to his second place. Incidentally, it wasn’t just the doubters he proved wrong with the drive but also James Allison.
The Mercedes technical director, as per SoyMotor, admitted, “I didn’t expect us to hold on to second place in the Sprint. I don’t think the car is fast enough to do that on its own merits. The rain was difficult for everyone on Friday and I take my hat off to Lewis [Hamilton] for doing everything well in such complicated circumstances.”
Allison lauded Hamilton for managing to keep the car within track limits. The rest of the grid, including Max Verstappen and Sprint pole position holder, Lando Norris, found it difficult to replicate that level of control.
In dry conditions, the seven-time champion managed to keep threats from rivals at bay. Allison admitted that he expected both Red Bulls and other teams to catch up to him. However, only Verstappen managed to pass Hamilton.
The 56-year-old highlighted how Norris’ unfortunate start to the Sprint and Fernando Alonso struggling behind faster cars helped. However, he admitted that the two factors took nothing away from the way Hamilton managed his race.
Toto Wolff is far from happy despite Lewis Hamilton managing P2 in Sprint qualifying
While James Allison believes the P2 result on both days was a pleasant surprise, Toto Wolff blamed the strategists for the SQ2 fiasco. He highlighted how the failure to get the cars in the correct window cost George Russell a place in SQ3. Incidentally, even Lewis Hamilton made it into the next session by a whisker.
Speaking with Auto Motor und Sport, Wolff said, “Today it was all about the correct tire preparation. Our car is so critical when it comes to this issue. I’m angry that we sent our drivers out too early in the SQ2. We would have been better off waiting in the garage, even with the risk of rain coming earlier.”
The Mercedes drivers, by virtue of going out too early, had to wait in the queue behind other drivers. This led to their tire temperatures plummeting. Red Bull strategists were quick on their feet and avoided a similar situation. That earned them Wolff’s praise.
Lewis Hamilton, much like James Allison, was quite happy. That is a demeanor he has been carrying since the start of the season. Wolff, however, believes the reason behind it is his impending move to Ferrari.
