Hamilton Shares His Honest Thoughts After Chinese Grand Prix: Didn't 'Expect Lot More'
F1Sunday, 21 April 2024 at 12:30
Lewis Hamilton shared his thoughts with the media after the end of the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit.
The seven-time World Champion had an awful qualifying session on Saturday when he was knocked out of Q1. In fact, it was his worst qualifying session since the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Consequently, he had to start the race from the back of the grid in P18. To get through the traffic as quickly as possible, Hamilton started the race on soft compound tires.
That eventually turned out to be a wrong choice for Mercedes, as the 39-year-old couldn't fire up the tires and struggled to make his way through cars that should have been much slower than his W15.
Once he switched his tires, Hamilton found a bit more pace and eventually fought his way up to P9, nine positions higher than where he started.
As to whether he was satisfied with his final result, the seven-time World Champion told Sky Sports: "I'm grateful to get into the points. I didn't honestly expect a lot more from this weekend."
His teammate George Russell, who started ten positions higher up the order, also struggled to make progress and ultimately didn't bring home a much better result as he finished in P6. Asked where that leaves Mercedes, Hamilton said:
"Hopefully, we have some step forward coming in the next race. Until then, we are back in the factory next week and try to position the car a bit better for the Miami, and hopefully, it will be a better weekend."
Mercedes apparently plans to introduce an upgrade during the sixth round of the season in Miami, so it will be exciting to watch whether the German team can solve some of their underlying problems.
The fifth round of the 2024 season was significant because F1 returned to the Shanghai International Circuit for the first time in the last five years. Sharing his thoughts on the Grand Prix itself, the 39-year-old added:
"I've got huge support. It's great to see the support for the whole sport here, which I think has been great. The track has been amazing, so it was good to be back."
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