Lewis Hamilton’s horror run in qualifying in 2024 continued at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as he only managed to set the 10th fastest lap time in Q3 despite arguably having the fastest car for this race weekend. In stark contrast, his teammate George Russell managed to qualify on pole and in the process out-qualified the 39-year-old for the 17th time this season.
Despite Hamilton’s starting position, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is confident that the seven-time champion can “play for a win” in Las Vegas. “The car looks to be quick. There’s a few he should be able to overtake right away and hopefully can play for a win tomorrow,” said Wolff.
#LasVegasGP | Toto Wolff post quali on Lewis Hamilton: “It would’ve been a front row – but having said that, where he starts, the car looks to be quick, there’s a few he should be able to overtake right away and hopefully can play for a win tomorrow.”
“If the car is not…
— deni (@fiagirly) November 23, 2024
Hamilton will start the Grand Prix right behind the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg and a few places behind the RB of Yuki Tsunoda, two drivers that Wolff may expect him to overtake in the first few laps of the race.
If Hamilton is indeed able to make quick work of those around him, he could potentially get to a position where he can play the team game with Russell and help Mercedes secure their fourth win of the campaign.
As for Hamilton’s prospects for the race, Wolff expects him to get to the podium places. The Briton is likely to have a strong Grand Prix as barring the couple of mistakes he made in Q3, he has consistently been quick all weekend.
He topped the timing charts in both FP1 and FP2 before clocking in the fifth-fastest time in FP3. Although Hamilton has a quick car underneath him for this weekend, there are other cars ahead of him — particularly the McLarens and the Ferraris — that he may find difficult to overtake to even get to the podium spots.
The two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris start in eighth and sixth respectively. Meanwhile, championship leader Max Verstappen is set to start in fifth, with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc just ahead of him.
