After a scintillating display of performances in the recently concluded Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton started his Qatar GP outing on an underwhelming note. The Mercedes driver managed P7 in the Sprint qualifying on Friday and looked dejected ahead of Saturday's Sprint race.
F1 is in Qatar for the final Sprint race of the season, and the penultimate race weekend of 2024. Lando Norris of McLaren grabbed the pole ahead of his compatriot, Mercedes' George Russell. Oscar Piastri on the other hand, qualified in P3.
Apart from the Q3 mistake at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton had a brilliant race weekend in Nevada. He came all the way from P10 to finish the race in P2. However, he did not seem to be in the same mojo in Qatar despite Toto Wolff's optimism earlier this weekend.
"It was the same as every other qualifying, not that great," Hamilton told Sky Sports. "I'm just slow. Same every weekend. The car felt relatively decent. No issues. Not really much more to say."
When asked to speak on the upcoming Sprint, he said,
"The long run didn't feel too bad. But, when you're back when I am, it makes it almost impossible to compete for wins. But that's the Sprint. I will do what I can tomorrow."
The seven-time world champion managed to clock 1:21.474, which was over four and a half-tenths slower than Norris, and over four-tenths slower than his teammate, Russell.
Mercedes engineering director shares feedback on Lewis Hamilton's performance
Mercedes' Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin pointed out the reason behind Lewis Hamilton's P7 in SQ3 on Friday. Speaking about this after the session, Shovlin stated that Hamilton lost time nearing the end of his final flying lap.
"Pace across the top four teams looks very close so it's beneficial to be starting the Sprint Race on the front row," Shovlin said. "Lewis was looking competitive in his final lap of SQ3 but unfortunately lost a little time in the last two corners, prior to this it looked like he was going to also finish in the top four."
Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc qualified in P4, and P5, respectively. Hamilton starts behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull in P6, and Pierre Gasly of Alpine in P8. Nico Hulkenberg of Haas and Liam Lawson of RB wrapped up the top 10 starting position for the Sprint.