Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes are far behind the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari and are not favourites to win the 2022 Japanese GP.
Lewis Hamilton will be starting P6 for the 2022 Japanese GP. While his teammate George Russell starts P8 as both Mercedes drivers suffer a disappointing Qualifying session.
Mercedes were looking competitive ahead of the race as both drivers locked the front row of the FP2 session. However, the team were behind both Ferrari and Red Bulls at the end of Q3.
Lewis and Russell were split by the two Alpines who gave the silver arrows a tough fight. This has made Lewis pessimistic about securing his and his team’s first win this season at Suzuka.
That’s P6 for Lewis and P8 for George on the #JapaneseGP grid – bring on tomorrow pic.twitter.com/ZXlof1iMNX
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) October 8, 2022
Mercedes brought upgrades to their W13 to suit the high-speed yet twisty track. This included a rear wing to improve the downforce. But Hamilton feels it hasn’t helped them much.
The W13 is slower on the straight according to Hamilton. He said, “We were losing a lot of time on the straights but the car was feeling really good throughout the rest of the lap,”
Lewis “I think that’s a real reach to try to say that we can get a win. Those guys are nine-tenths ahead. You don’t go from being nine-tenths behind in qualifying to win a race.”
Max Verstappen claimed his 5th pole of the season and will start the race P1. He starts ahead of the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who start P2 and P3.
Also Read: Max Verstappen likely to lift title in Japan as he holds 0.12s advantage over Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton feels wet weather might help
Mercedes have dominated Suzuka since 2014. Since 2014, Mercedes have swept all the wins at the race track with Lewis Hamilton claiming 4 of the 6 wins.
But this time the 7-time World Champion feels Mercedes are not close. He feels the car is slower than its competitors. But Hamilton believes their luck can change, “It depends on the conditions that we have.”
Post-quali #LewisHamilton #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/u11d8jX0Lv
— kate ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ (@kinglewis44) October 8, 2022
The Mercedes performed well in FP2 in Wet conditions. And if it rains during the race, Lewis believes the team can achieve a podium or an outside chance to win the race.
“He adds, If it rains, I think we didn’t look too bad yesterday in the wet conditions. I think either way we should be a little bit closer than we were today. And I’m just hoping for a better race result than we had last week.”
Also Read: Toto Wolff not sure about Mercedes taking Championship fight to Red Bull or Ferrari in 2023
Lewis Hamilton hopes for a better showing than Singapore GP
The Singapore GP was Mercedes’s worst race finish since their 2021 Azerbaijan GP. Lewis Hamilton scored the only points for the team as he finished P9 while George Russell only managed P14.
Mercedes were looking fast during the European Leg of the championships. Both the drivers had shown a good pace and claimed a handful of podiums.
Many believed Mercedes have overcome their difficult start and claimed their first win later on. But since then their performances have hit the wall.
Slippin’ and slidin’ @LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/YuG3GIuyS0
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) October 7, 2022
This raises doubts about if Lewis can claim his first win in 2022. The 7-time World Champion has won a race in every season he has competed in.
The Briton will be hoping for a better outing in Suzuka as he F1 returns to Japan after 3 years.
Also Read: “$5 Million not a minor breach” – Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff on Red Bull’s budget breach cover-up
