'Unlucky' Hamilton Finds Positives After P7: 'Upgrade Has Clearly Worked'
F1Saturday, 19 October 2024 at 12:00
Lewis Hamilton suggested he was happy with his car and explained what went wrong after he qualified only in P7 for the Sprint Race.
Mercedes was one of the F1 teams that brought the biggest upgrades to the 2024 United States Grand Prix. After having only on practice session to get comfortable with the car and set it up, drivers went straight into the Sprint Qualifying.
While Lewis Hamilton and George Russell struggled in FP1, both losing control of their cars on multiple occasions, they performed much better in the Sprint Qualifying.
It seemed like Silver Arrows might even have had the pace to lock out the front row. While Russell did qualify in P2, Hamilton was caught out by the yellow flag triggered by Franco Colapinto, who spun out in turn number 12.
The seven-time World Champion then also went deep into that same corner, which lost him too much time. Ultimately, he qualified in P7, his lap time being -0,545 off Max Verstappen's pole position time.
"I just got unlucky with the yellow flag, and that's what it is. I was four-tenths up, but you know, it is what it is. The good thing is the team has made a step with the car."
"The upgrade has clearly worked, and I'm really grateful to everyone back at the factory for all the hard work over this period of time because it's been a tough slog for everyone to get the upgrade and make sure that they're working. So, it's not the end of the day. Tomorrow, we've got another chance."
The upgrade in Austin is Mercedes's first package since the summer break. The German team struggled to match their rivals' pace in the Netherlands, Italy, Azerbaijan, and Singapore, but it seems Mercedes might be back in the fight for the victory in Austin. Hamilton added:
"We did a great job in between [sessions] to make changes to the car. And it's always a bit of a gamble because you don't know whether or not the changes you make are going to work."
"But you hope they do what you aim to do with them and as soon as I got out of the car, it was like night and day different."
"So, it was great work from the guys in the garage, and then with Bono and Mike [his performance engineers], they did a great job."
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