Hamilton Confesses He Didn't Enjoy Sunday Race: 'I Was Pretty Slow'

Monday, 22 April 2024 at 12:35

Despite making significant progress after starting all the way from the back of the grid, Lewis Hamilton suggested he didn't enjoy the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.

The seven-time World Champion had to start the fifth Grand Pix of the season at Shanghai International Circuit from P18 because of his own mistake in qualifying.

The 39-year-old wasn't very satisfied with his setup in the sprint race (even though he finished second) and wanted to change it before qualifying, but that meant he had trouble braking his car into turn number 14.

He locked up in that exact turn on the final flying lap in Q1, which, according to the Mercedes team principal, cost him more than half a second and resulted in his being knocked out.

Starting from P18, the Mercedes driver chose an alternative strategy and started on soft compound tires, which also turned out to be a wrong choice.

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He struggled to pass drivers whose cars were supposed to be much slower. While he ultimately finished in the top 10 - P9, Hamilton didn't enjoy the race.

"Not particularly; I mean, I was pretty slow. I mean, the few battles that I had, it was okay, but I was not particularly quick today."

The reporter conducting the interview complimented the seven-time World Champion on his "creative" overtake of Nico Hulkenberg on lap 41.

The 39-year-old set up a very nice overtake on Nico Hulkenberg at an unusual spot on the track. When asked to comment on the move, Hamilton suggested it wasn't anything special in his eyes.

"I've done it a million times there. I mean, I appreciate you saying, 'It's creative,' but it was pretty straightforward. It was textbook, to be honest."

While the Chinese Grand Prix race didn't go that well, the Briton can at least comfort himself with the result from the sprint race (his team's first podium of the season) and the fact that Mercedes will be introducing new upgrades during the upcoming round in Miami, which should make the car quicker.