Lewis Hamilton failing to make it to Q3 at the Miami GP awoke a lot of questions from the fans. The reality of Mercedes’ setbacks this season dawned on both their fans and the teams. Looking back at the unfortunate situation Hamilton was put in, the team points out what went wrong for the 7-time champ.
When we thought things couldn’t get worse for the team, Hamilton hit a new low at the Miami GP. Getting knocked out by his rivals is unfamiliar territory for the driver, who was visibly upset after the qualifying session. Now, with the weekend done and dusted, Hamilton had managed to convert his P13 start to a P6 finish. It was the best he could hope for.
Mercedes takes the blame for Lewis Hamilton woes
A shoddy number next to the legend’s name, P13 didn’t feel right for anyone witnessing the session. Andrew Shovlin answers the biggest question of the weekend: What happened to Hamilton? He simply explained, “We just weren’t quick enough.”
Taking us through what went behind the qualifying result, the traffic behind them on the track worked against them. But, that was just a part of the problem. “In terms of how we ran the session, we were looking at a balance between going late and trying to get track evolution… but also going early where you probably get a better chance of a clear outlap.”
Miami loves LH. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/s54scQyoTF
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 7, 2023
Although finding this balance was crucial to the team, who narrowly escaped the consequences of failing to do so, the team acknowledges there was something greater at play. “We’ll review the timing of that because we could have undoubtedly done a better job… but fundamentally, the main thing we need to focus on is getting a faster car.”
Lewis. ❤️ Always fighting to get the best result possible for the Team. 💪 pic.twitter.com/odVaCZoSBp
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 14, 2023
At the core of all their problems, the car itself remains the biggest trial for the Brackley team. Week after week, the performance of the car only acts as a booming reminder of how terribly wrong Mercedes has played their cards for this season.
A Saturday to forget for Hamilton
After the woeful qualifying session, Hamilton knew that the car just simply lacked pace; there was nothing more that he could have done. Hamilton had also pointed out the team’s failure to find the “balance” Shovlin talks about.
“At the end there I went out, they put me out behind seven cars – or something like that – so when I got to the last corner I was like the last of the group. [I] had to back up and lost all my temperature in the tires, so when I started the lap I just had no grip.”
Further, in true Lewis Hamilton form, he chose to push the session to the back of his mind and focus on the race. ” All I can do is try to prepare myself the best and forget what happened today.”
Which he successfully did. Although P6 isn’t where Hamilton deserves to be in the larger scheme of things, it’s the best he could’ve done. With the Red Bulls soaring light years ahead of the field, the benchmark is too high for Mercedes to play catch up. Yet, there could be a glimpse of hope. With new upgrades promised in the near future, hopefully, Hamilton will not suffer a Q2 knockout again.
