During qualifying for the Chinese GP, Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q1, a setback that deeply affected the seven-time world champion and for which he accepted some responsibility. Looking back at the race weekend, Mercedes acknowledged that they were at fault for Hamilton’s Q1 exit.
“Lewis was very clear afterwards, saying he really wished he had taken the same approach as George on his first run in Q1,” revealed Mercedes technical director James Allison. “George was provided with fuel in his car for two timed laps to allow him to familiarize himself with the car during his initial fast run, complete a cooling down lap, and then push again, which helped him gain a better understanding of the car.”
“Lewis opted for just one timed lap later in the session. He only managed one timed lap and afterwards expressed that he needed another lap. He felt that the changes made to the car had introduced more understeer, the car locked up more quickly under braking, and he struggled with the front brakes causing some issues.”
“I think we all witnessed what occurred on his second run, which was only his second timed lap. Approaching the hairpin, the braking wasn’t ideal, he went too deep and lost around 0.7 seconds. That can make a significant difference and without that mistake, he could have easily made it to Q3. He owned up to his error, saying, ‘My mistake, my mistake’.”
“I believe we also bear some responsibility; we should have encouraged him more to follow a similar program to George. That’s on us, we need to develop a car that is not as challenging to drive. Currently, we are providing the drivers with a car that leads to quite unusual errors.”