Lewis Hamilton opened up about the setbacks he faced during the Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying, citing overnight adjustments to his car as the root cause for being “on the back foot” during Free Practice 3 (FP3). The seven-time world champion struggled to string together a competitive lap during the subsequent qualifying session.
Despite the challenges, Hamilton secured the 10th position on the grid for Sunday’s race, benefitting from a grid penalty imposed on Carlos Sainz. However, this marks the second time in the three US-based races this season that Hamilton failed to make it into Q3, with evolving track conditions catching him off guard.
Surprisingly, both Williams cars, an Alfa Romeo, Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine managed to outpace the seasoned British driver in qualifying. Hamilton’s teammate, George Russell, showcased a more promising performance, securing a place on the second row of the grid. Russell will kick off the race just behind three-time world champions Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton’s revelation sheds light on the intricate dynamics of Formula 1 racing, where overnight adjustments and evolving track conditions can significantly impact a driver’s performance on the qualifying stage, setting the stage for an intriguing race day.
Mercedes’ overnight car changes
Hamilton elaborated on the specific challenges he faced at the Las Vegas Street Circuit in a conversation with Sky Sports F1. The seven-time world champion provided detailed insights into what went wrong during the race weekend, shedding light on the intricacies that contributed to his struggles on the demanding street circuit.
“Just not that great,” he admitted.
“Yesterday was a little bit better and we were looking relatively competitive. Made some changes over night, FP3 was pretty poor. Kind of put me on the back foot, and then I was just trying to recover basically in qualifying which is never the place to do so.
“Just struggled with the grip, car just wasn’t working for me and it’s definitely difficult when you can’t even get through Q2, but it is what it is.”
