Lewis Hamilton sent the Silverstone crowd into raptures during Q3 for the 2024 British Grand Prix. Rounding off the final corner and onto the Sir Lewis Hamilton straight, the #44 driver earned his eleventh front-row start at the British GP.
But behind the jubilation of Mercedes’ redemption, the Briton must be feeling the pinch of possibly leaving the Silver Arrows just when they are about to regain their form of old. After the session, Hamilton was asked whether he would have made the jump to Ferrari if he knew how well the revised W15 could perform.
As reported by Formula Passion (quoted on X (formerly Twitter)), the seven-time world champion had a one-word answer – “Yes.” Hamilton will be ending his time at Mercedes to join Ferrari next year on a reported $400 million deal.
Asked if he would have still gone to Ferrari with this Mercedes?
Lewis Hamilton: “Yes” https://t.co/9NB72dVR5w
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) July 6, 2024
While this would make him F1’s highest-paid driver ever, recent form suggests his performances on track might not match up to his lofty salary. However, even when it comes to Ferrari, their recent performances have been underwhelming. Ever since the 2024 Spanish GP, Ferrari have fallen behind the Silver Arrows on pace.
This was confirmed once again during Qualifying for the Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc was shockingly knocked out of Q2. On the other hand, Carlos Sainz will start the race from seventh after being out-qualified by the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg.
Leclerc admits Ferrari are confused after British GP Q2 shocker
Ferrari had brought a comprehensive upgrade package to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. However, surprisingly, they fell back in the pecking order behind Mercedes. This was the case at the Red Bull Ring last weekend as well.
Speaking about his dreadful Q2 exit, Formula 1 quoted the #16 driver as admitting, “We are just slow. We are just really slow at the moment and we have a lot of inconsistencies with the car. We are trying to just assess the situation we are in at the moment and try to understand which are the directions in which we need to push into.”
Big track evolution results in a mixed Q2 for us
We lose @Charles_Leclerc in P11, @Carlossainz55 goes through in P7#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/wQMFh8042r
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 6, 2024
In a bid to understand their lack of pace, Leclerc was fitted with the post-Barcelona configuration, while Sainz was using the older spec SF-24 (pre-Barcelona). Sainz did manage to sneak into Q3 but his ultimate pace is still a cause for concern as the likes of Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes look head-and-shoulders above the Prancing Horse.
