Sky Sports expert Naomi Schiff doubted Lewis Hamilton’s last-lap move on Oscar Piastri and accused the 7x champion of sabotaging his teammate’s qualification. Schiff is of the opinion that Hamilton, who was outperformed by George Russell in 2022, “intentionally” dragged McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the last lap of Q2. This move threw Russell out of the qualification.
As reported by the F1 Insider, the Sky Sports presenter said, “I doubt that was intentional”, soon after Piastri received important slipstream from the Mercedes. She added, “The timing of when you hit the lead man here is of course very important on this track.”
IT’S RACE DAY. Drop a 💛💙 to show your support, Team. pic.twitter.com/Mm25AC9gSp
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 30, 2023
The little bit of tow managed to put the Australian 0.014 seconds ahead in P9. While Russell was eliminated from Q2 after missing out by 0.004 to his veteran teammate Hamilton.
However, not sure if this is a conspiracy theory, but Hamilton definitely got the advantage of not having his teammate in Q3. The 38-year-old Mercedes star qualified in P5 in the end and started the race six places ahead of Russell on Sunday.
Hamilton eyes major point haul after getting better of Russell
For the first time in 2023, the Stevenage-born driver got the better of his younger teammate in qualifying. In all three qualifications in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Australia, Russell was ahead of Hamilton. But, the table had turned this time as he hoped to extend the 17 points gap he has over his teammate.
What can Lewis do from P5 today? #AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ourMjWI6sR
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 30, 2023
However, Russell got the upper hand against Hamilton once again in the first Sprint of the season. He finished the controversial event in P4, whereas Hamilton crossed the line in P7.
Hamilton is happy to start in the third row
Despite having no significant upgrades in the car, Hamilton had revealed that he is happy to start Sunday’s race from the third row. The Briton managed to grab P5 after a chaotic qualification on Friday.
The 38-year-old stated as per Planet F1, “I’m happy to be on the third row and hopefully tomorrow we can have a bit of a better battle.” However, the former McLaren star was also taken aback by the speed deficit Mercedes had with Red Bull or Ferrari.
Admittedly, the Silver Arrows arrived in Azerbaijan without major upgrades to their challenger. As per Autosport, they only made some slight changes to their rear wing endplate, front corner, rear corner, and front suspension.
