Despite Best Qualifying, Hamilton Insists Mercedes ‘Lost Performance’ at Spanish Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes has "lost performance" despite achieving his best qualifying result of the 2024 F1 season. He expressed concerns about the team's performance during the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying session.

Lewis Hamilton maintains that Mercedes has "lost performance" even though he achieved his top qualifying position of the 2024 F1 season to date at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion managed to out-qualify his teammate George Russell for just the second time this season. Both Mercedes drivers secured the third and fourth spots on the grid, with Hamilton trailing by three-tenths of a second behind McLaren's Lando Norris, who claimed pole position, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

This event was the first instance since last year's United States Grand Prix that Hamilton has secured a position within the top three during a standard qualifying session.

Throughout this season, Mercedes has often begun weekends with strong performances during Friday practice sessions, only to experience a surprising decline in speed during qualifying. Although this trend did not occur in Barcelona, Hamilton believed that his W15 had more potential speed.

Hamilton expressed that he sensed a dip in performance as he approached the qualifying rounds. He added that it might simply be a matter of perspective and suggested that perhaps others had simply improved.

"I certainly sense there was some untapped potential. However, when you begin to push the car harder, it doesn't respond well. During practice sessions, when you allow for a small safety margin, the car performs nicely. The issues arise when you push it to the limit in an effort to shave off extra lap time."

“It’s all about the tyres, in my opinion. During the first practice session, I was slower by seven-tenths of a second because there was a problem with the tyre warmers. We managed to fix it for the next sessions, but it still left us at a slight disadvantage.”

“Overall, it's great that we're in this position, and this is my best qualifying performance of the year, so I'm very thankful for it.”

Hamilton swiftly minimized his prospects of securing his first win in more than two years this Sunday.

The 39-year-old mentioned, "I believe it will be quite challenging. In my opinion, Norris and Verstappen will be very fast."

"Positioning is crucial, and since there are two of us, we aim to work together to put pressure on the two cars in front, which might allow us to strategize effectively."

"The key factor tomorrow will be how we manage tyre wear. We won't have a clear picture until we complete the first stint."

Hamilton commented, "I believe the main worry is likely the Ferraris trailing us. Clearly, we are all separated by just a fraction of a second, approximately from third to fifth or sixth place."

"This weekend, they received an upgrade. Their long-distance speed appeared to be quite robust, so it's more about collaborating as a team and trying to maintain our position at the very least."

"If we find ourselves with extra speed and can keep up with our competitors, then it's a real contest. However, we won't have a clear picture until tomorrow, and managing wear and tear is always crucial at this track."

"If you have an excellent weekend, you can maintain your balance and preserve the rear tires. This will be crucial for tomorrow."

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