Lewis Hamilton had an underwhelming start to the Australian GP, failing to get into Q3, and will start the race from P11 on the grid. After seeing his teammate George Russell secure a P7 starting position, former Ferrari General Manager Peter Windsor feels that Hamilton is underperforming on purpose.
Windsor in his recent YouTube video revealed that the seven-time world champion is deliberately hiding his prowess, and is not performing to the best of his abilities. The 71-year-old believes that Hamilton will continue doing this unless the W-15’s performance is to his liking. Additionally, the fact that he is signing for Ferrari next year, might have hindered his motivation to get the best out of a sub-par Mercedes car.
Windsor said, “Lewis didn’t make it into Q3. George did. And you could say as I’ve been saying well you know Lewis isn’t going to put it absolutely 100% on the line unless the car feels pretty good now. He’s got his Ferrari career ahead of him. He can relax, enjoy, and give it everything he wants when he feels right.”
Hamilton, after his shock qualifying exit, delivered a bemoaning assessment of the Silver Arrows’ challenger. He told the media that he was not too surprised with the result as his underwhelming performances over the last two years have made him used to exits like this. Windy conditions in Melbourne in particular, affected his driving tremendously, and is believed to be the main reason behind his P11 finish.
Mercedes’ car, admittedly, is not the best in 2024. They have struggled for the last three years, and the fact that George Russell failed to get into the top 5 too, shows that there is a lot of work to do.
How George Russell has outperformed Lewis Hamilton
Three rounds into the 2024 season, George Russell seems to have the upper hand over Lewis Hamilton. The standings, although early into the season, show that Russell is 10 points ahead of his Mercedes teammate, and is much more comfortable with the car.
Lewis is knocked out of Qualifying. He will start tomorrow’s race in P11.
George progresses to the top 10 shootout.
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 23, 2024
Hamilton explained that the primary reason behind his underperformance compared to Russell is the way he sets up his car. In the first two races, he tweaked his set up to get something more out of the W-15, but it did not work the way he wanted it to.
Hamilton tried the same thing in Melbourne (as reported by F1’s official website) to keep his car in sync with the track and its conditions, but failed to extract results. His one-lap pace wasn’t good enough for a top 10 finish, and he starts the Australian GP from P11 on the grid.
