For the second weekend in a row, Lewis Hamilton struggled to perform in the qualifying session. Although he made it through to Q3 in Monza, Hamilton could only manage to finish P8 on Saturday. Speaking about his teammate’s struggles, GP Fans quotes George Russell, who revealed he took a major risk during the session to help Hamilton qualify higher on the grid.
The practice sessions in Monza made it obvious that the Mercedes car was not going to be particularly fast at the ‘Temple of Speed’. While both drivers were happy with their performances throughout the sessions, they still demanded a faster car from their team to help improve their performances. However, Hamilton continued to struggle throughout the session on Saturday, as he complained about not being able to find enough grip to push his car to the limit.
Meanwhile, Russell had a much better outing on Saturday as he could get much more out of his car. Not only did the 25-year-old qualify in P4, but he also tried to get his teammate to finish higher by trying a risky maneuver.
George Russell reveals he tried helping Hamilton achieve a higher finish
During Saturday’s qualifying session in Monza, the Mercedes drivers put on an impressive showing of teamwork. With the veteran driver struggling, the junior driver, Russell, stepped up for the sake of his team. Not only did he qualify in the second row for the feature race, but he also tried ‘towing’ his teammate to help him finish up the ladder, too.
“It’s quite challenging when you’re heading into turn one at 210/220mph and you get the slipstream. The next lap you’re doing 225mph and [it] changes your braking point. If you nail it, there’s a tenth and a half. I towed him the whole session.”
Russell admitted to the maneuver being risky, too, as it can lead to a driver not getting the perfect out lap. Even though Russell tried his best to help Hamilton out, the 7-time world champion could not make the most of it. At the end of the day, the driver was far from happy and disheartened with the results.
Another unsatisfactory Saturday for Lewis Hamilton
A dejected Hamilton stood before the mics as questions poured in about how he felt after securing P8 during qualifying in Monza. The Briton called his session “sh*t.” Hamilton admitted to struggling in each lap of the session and said his car was very slow from the start of Q1. Speaking about the emotions on display by the former world champion, Nico Rosberg revealed much of it was because he hates to finish behind his teammate. Rosberg knows a lot about this, because of his rivalry with Hamilton when both of them were at Mercedes.
not impressed 😬 https://t.co/cfkzt1Dalk
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) September 3, 2023
After Saturday’s session, Russell was much more pleased than his teammate. The 25-year-old said that his finish “slightly exceeded expectations” and that he was feeling good ahead of the race on Sunday. The British driver also revealed that his side of the garage sent in a more race-ready car in qualifying, which helped improve his performance.
