Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese Grand Prix qualifying may have turned into a disaster, but Saturday morning began on a good note for the seven-time world champion. On F1’s return to Shanghai, Hamilton had a brilliant start to the Sprint race, taking the lead from pole-sitter Lando Norris on lap one itself. After getting the better of him on track, Hamilton took to the mic to explain to Norris why his decision to go wheel to wheel was a terrible idea.
In the post-Sprint press conference, Hamilton stated that Norris’ outside line had dirty air, limiting the McLaren driver’s ability to get a good exit on turn one. Also on the outside, Norris failed to find a grip, despite his attempt at pushing Hamilton to the maximum. In the end, the #44 driver prevailed, whereas Norris went off the track.
Hamilton, however, knows what Norris should have done.
“In that scenario, he should have just conceded and just parked up behind me, he probably would have had the pace to overtake me”, the 39-year-old said.
| Lewis: “In that scenario, he should have just conceded and just parked up behind me, he probably would have had the pace to overtake me”
Lewis has decided to stunt on Lando’s neck today in more ways than 1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/ol1vX3tKiK
— Hamilton Insights (@LH44_insights) April 20, 2024
Norris finished P1 in Sprint qualifying yesterday, and the McLaren car seemed to have pace, which is something Hamilton pointed out. Unfortunately, a mistake took away another chance Norris had of ending his winless F1 streak. Hamilton feels that Norris could have passed him later on, had he conceded that corner to the Mercedes star.
At the end of the Sprint, Hamilton got a second-place finish, whereas Norris finished P6.
Contrasting Grand Prix Qualifying for Lewis Hamilton
In the Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday afternoon, Lewis Hamilton made a costly error that saw him exit the session after Q1. Heading into turn 14, Hamilton appeared to brake later than usual, and the tailwind forced his car slightly wide. This small error cost him four-tenths of a second, which would have seen him comfortably make it to Q2.
That’s the flag on Quali P8 for George and P18 for Lewis on the grid for tomorrow’s Chinese GP pic.twitter.com/56WVUfsiVn
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 20, 2024
Hamilton will now start the Chinese GP from P18, which makes things extremely difficult for the Stevenage-born driver and Mercedes. George Russell, meanwhile, made his way into Q2 and Q3 comfortably.
Hamilton’s young compatriot struggled in Sprint qualifying, finishing P11 which angered Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. Thankfully for him, he made amends, outperforming Hamilton in yet another qualifying session this season, and will line up from P8 on the grid for the race on Sunday.
