Saudi Arabian GP: Lewis Hamilton to go ‘back to drawing board’ after P7 qualifying
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Lewis Hamilton said he needs to “go back to the drawing board” after feeling “nowhere” throughout practice and qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion qualified his Ferrari in seventh place on Sunday’s grid, three places and 0.531 seconds behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.
After struggling throughout the three practice sessions, he said it was a relief just to feature in the top ten of the grid.
“[It’s been] challenging as always in qualifying for me,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been nowhere all weekend and 13th I think in almost every session. So honestly, I feel grateful to have got to Q3 and P7.
“Not a spectacular last lap but I’ve been making improvements all weekend. I needed a better lap at the end but as I said, I’m grateful to be there.
“Trying to find the time to bond with this car on single lap is something I’m finding very difficult at the moment but we don’t give up and there’s always a way. We keep pushing and trying and we’ve got amazing support so just keep working hard.”
One week ago in Bahrain, Hamilton said he felt more comfortable with his car during the second stint of the race and was hopeful changes to his driving style would translate to a better performance in Saudi Arabia.
However, he admitted the perceived step in performance appeared to be another false dawn.
“Ultimately I’m lacking a lot of pace,” he added. “It’s just me not gelling with the car at the moment.
“I was feeling positive after the last race, and hoping that I could apply some of those things but it’s not worked. I’ll go back to the drawing board and keep working.
“My Q3 laps are pretty poor, they are like my worst laps at the moment so I need to work on that. I’m going to race, see if I can go forwards, if not hope there is something to capitalise on, extract the most from the car and strategy.
“No matter what I try, I’m a long way off. But you don’t give up, you just keep trying.”
Despite qualifying fourth, Leclerc was also disappointed with his result, saying the car, which in his hands was 0.424 seconds off Max Verstappen on pole, simply was not quick enough compared to the competition.
“I’m far from pleased and very disappointed overall. Because when you do everything you can with the car and end up P4 it’s frustrating and disappointing but that’s what is capable with that car for the moment.
“I can change the limitations going from oversteer to understeer but at the end of the day we just don’t have enough grip to carry enough speed that they are carrying. It’s just disappointing because we expect more from a track like this.
Asked what he could expect from the race, Leclerc added: “I don’t expect miracles … a miracle can only be a win.
“The podium I think is possible but it’s reliant on the start, so if we have a good start then anything is possible.”
Source: espn.com