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Lewis Hamilton's mechanics took a 'bolder' approach during the qualifying session in Jeddah, as per team principal Toto Wolff. The Briton failed to get past Q1 for the first time since Brazil 2017, leading to widespread worry among fans.
The qualifying session of the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was full of twists and turns. Sergio Perez claimed his first pole position in the sport and Mick Schumacher crashed out of Q2. However, the biggest shock of the session for many was Lewis Hamilton's Q1 exit - his first since Brazil 2017.
Speaking to the media after the session, team principal Toto Wolff claimed the team took a 'bold' approach to Hamilton's setup, causing a lack of performance. He continued:
"We are still experimenting with setups to find out where the sweet spot of the car is. So on Lewis's side, they went a bit bolder and the outcome was that basically he had no rear end in the car. That explains the big laptime deficit".
Lewis Hamilton claimed his car wouldn't be drastically different at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
As confirmed by the team's performance, Hamilton claimed Mercedes had not unlocked the secret to a competitive car ahead of the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. After a shock podium in the 2022 opener in Bahrain, many expected Mercedes to bring in big improvements to the weekend in Jeddah.
Hamilton, however, claimed that fans would be disappointed to learn that major changes were not brought to Jeddah, despite numerous speculations.
Speaking about the lack of drastic performance changes, Lewis Hamilton said:
“Huge amount of work has gone on in the past three days. Very proud of my team for just keeping their heads down and staying focused. Turning through the crazy amount of data that we have basically every time we get into the car."
"And just trying to understand the issue that we have. We are aware of the problems we have, but in terms of what is causing it [Trying to find]. There’s not a huge difference here this weekend but hopefully we will have some things to try.”
Meanwhile, teammate George Russell fared better, placing P6 at the end of Q3. However, the driver has claimed that the team is not content with mid-field performances and would like to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull - who are far above Mercedes' level at the moment.
