Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is “getting used to” George Russell being disqualified after losing the Mexico City Grand Prix while his Mercedes team-mate was using a very old car floor.
Mercedes introduced a new floor at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix, but as both drivers struggled to handle the W15, Russell crashed in qualifying and the floor for the first time in July’s British Grand Prix for Sunday’s race at Austin. Had to go back to repetition. Grand Prix.
The Briton crashed again during second practice on Friday in Mexico and had to revert to the older version of the floor, which was first introduced at May’s Miami Grand Prix, but he still bested Hamilton by almost three seconds. managed to do better than one tenth as they finished fifth and sixth.
Russell’s qualifying head-to-head advantage over Hamilton is now 15-5 for the season, which is the seven-time world champion’s last at Mercedes before joining Ferrari next year.
“I’m losing all the time, which is why I’ve been so bad in qualifying all year,” Hamilton explained. Sky Sports F1“It’s a normal thing and I’m used to it.
“We have done everything. We worked very hard in the background, as everyone does, to keep the car in a good place.
“In the final practice it looked good, so we said, ‘Let’s not touch anything or do anything. The only thing we changed was the rear wing and it’s just a big difference.
“Every time I qualify the car is completely different. I can’t explain why, but it is what it is.”
George Russell (R) has a 15-5 lead over Lewis Hamilton in the 2024 qualifying match.
Hamilton has been far more competitive on Sunday and holds a 10-point lead over Russell in the driver standings with five races remaining in the 2024 season.
While waiting for the race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Hamilton said: “Maybe George is more comfortable on the older package. I don’t know, we’ll see. We’ll find out pretty well which one is the best.”
Russell: It was one of my best laps of the season
Despite his impressive qualifying form this season, Russell came into the session under pressure after his two heavy crashes, causing Mercedes mechanics to work overnight to prepare his car for the Saturday session.
“The lap was really strong,” Russell said. Sky Sports F1“After everything that happened [on Friday] And Austin, it’s been a whirlwind for us over the past few weeks and now we’re running on the floor that we brought to Miami, 14 races ago, to be only a tenth off P3 was really strong and I’m very happy With this.
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Mercedes driver George Russell collided with the barrier during second practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“We’re in Miami-spec at the moment. Obviously it’s all because of my own issues and the incidents that happened to me. It put a lot of pressure on the team, they did a great job in Austin to get the car sorted, they did so Did a great job last night, it has put a lot of pressure on everyone in the factory.
“So from that side I’m a little disappointed with myself, but I’m pushing the limits and I’m trying to get more out of this car. Now maybe we need to accept that we are the fourth-fastest team “We should qualify seventh and eighth, today we qualified fifth and sixth so it should be a good day.”
On how he was able to outperform Hamilton by such a large margin, Russell believed he had performed one of his best laps of the season.
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Sky F1’s Martin Brundle was trackside to see the damage George Russell caused to his Mercedes after a major crash during P2 in Mexico.
“Lewis and I had a very close relationship throughout the season, I don’t know what happened with him in the end,” the Briton said.
“I was really happy with my lap, I think it was one of my best laps of the season.
“At the end of the day I was still half a second or so off pole position, but we know from one session to the next, if you take yesterday as an example, I was fastest in FP1 and I was fastest in FP1. The two laps we did in 2018, we were P10, so, it’s not just limited to upgrades.”
Bernie: Young Russell should get a better reaction than Hamilton
Reaction to Hamilton’s postseason interview, Sky Sports F1 Pundit and former Aston Martin head of race strategy Bernie Collins analyzed the 39-year-old’s struggles.
“I think qualifying has been a particularly struggle for Lewis this season,” Collins said.
“George is performing better, but he’s still very much tied in the race. Maybe you would expect a little bit of that at the stage he is in his career.
“If we look at it that way, George should have quick reactions, which is more important in qualifying. But Lewis is always there or thereabouts at race pace. So, it’s about converting on Saturday and It’s sad to see him like that, disappointed there.”
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Lewis Hamilton crashes out of Q1 at the United States Grand Prix.
Despite Hamilton saying that on this occasion he had made minimal changes to his car between final practice and qualifying, Collins questioned whether late-weekend adjustments to the W15 had contributed to his lack of one-lap pace.
“On a regular basis when we’re in the pit lane between P3 and qualifying, they break down Lewis’ car to make some changes and George is quite happy,” said Collins.
“I don’t know if it’s an overreaction among Lewis and the engineers to what happened in P3, and George is more settled now.
“We talk a lot about letting the track come to you and letting the grip change. You don’t have to go around the world based on a P3 standings. So maybe that’s a little bit of that.
“There are such fine margins here that a little bit of brake or tire temperature makes a big difference, it’s all working together.”
Sky Sports F1 live Mexico City GP schedule
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Watch some of the most dramatic moments from the Mexico City Grand Prix
Sunday 27th October
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Mexico City GP build-up*
8 pm: Mexico City Grand Prix*
10pm: Checkered flag: Mexico City GP reaction
*Also live on Sky Sports Main Event (race build-up from 7.30pm on Sunday)
Formula 1’s Americas triple header continues on Sunday with the Mexico City Grand Prix with lights off at 8pm, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month subscription – no contract, cancel anytime
