After the initial run in SQ3, Lewis Hamilton’s fastest time put Mercedes on track for a satisfactory outcome in the sprint shootout session at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday.
However, his aspirations of converting that performance into a leading position for the sprint race were thwarted when he and his teammate George Russell collided with each other.
Hamilton ultimately began his last lap just behind Russell, who made an error at La Source and consequently lost speed for the uphill section through Eau Rouge. As a result, their respective laps were negatively impacted.
Later on, since their incident provided an opportunity for rivals to secure the leading positions on the grid, both drivers acknowledged that it had been less than perfect.
Russell expressed that the situation was chaotic, whereas Hamilton was disappointed as he believed he had a good chance of securing a front row position.
Mercedes team boss Wolff acknowledged the need for improvement after experiencing similar miscommunication errors in managing qualifying runs at the Spanish and Austrian Grands Prix.
“He stated that it is a clear issue for all of us when we observe that Hamilton was in the lead before the final lap.”
“It’s not just him failing to secure pole position or a spot on the front row, but rather the entire team and all of us collectively missing out on it.”
“It is an ongoing process of growth and learning. Despite the negative experiences, I am confident that our subsequent discussions have helped us take a step towards rectifying the situation. However, we have encountered a few setbacks and it is crucial for us to improve our performance.”
Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG, in the Team Prinicpals Press Conference
Photo by: FIA Pool
Hamilton and Russell clarified that the occurrence was caused by their inability to obtain the necessary information regarding the remaining time to finish their laps as Q3 was coming to a close.
Russell stated that the message conveyed was that they were very near the limit and had to exert force to overtake others in order to complete the lap.
Hamilton stated that there was a slight miscommunication regarding the plan to do another lap after the slow one.
“We reached the final corner, and there were approximately seven cars present. Both George and I had the impression that time was running out. Consequently, George decided to swiftly maneuver through the inner side instead of proceeding at a leisurely pace to create some distance.”
Wolff thought that it was a sharpness in the dialogue between the pit wall and drivers that was central to the matter.
He explained that we need to improve our performance by enhancing the collaboration between the drivers and the team.
“In instances like these, when it involves surpassing boundaries under challenging circumstances, we simply need to exhibit accuracy.”
“You can appear highly impressive and intelligent in a short amount of time, but that can quickly change. For instance, if these two individuals hadn’t encountered difficulties, Max would have failed to complete the last lap.”
“However, it is important to shift our attention from the driver and focus on ourselves. We had sufficient time to ensure a successful launch for both of them.”
“And Lewis had secured the top position temporarily in the previous lap, but ultimately finished in 7th place. Therefore, it is unacceptable for all of us collectively.”
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