Formula 1 News: Lewis Hamilton Perplexed by Sudden Grip Loss in Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying
In a surprising turn of events, Lewis Hamilton struggled to comprehend the sudden grip loss he experienced between FP3 and qualifying with an unchanged Mercedes Formula 1 car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Mercedes had emerged as the standout team in drier conditions during final practice, with Hamilton leading the charge with a significant 0.374s gap over Max Verstappen. However, the seven-time champion’s pace mysteriously vanished when it mattered most in Q3, relegating him to seventh place, while teammate George Russell claimed pole position.
Hamilton’s inability to replicate promising practice times in crunch moments has been a consistent theme in 2024, and he was left bewildered as his speed seemingly disappeared. “The car had been feeling great all weekend,” Hamilton expressed. “I mean, firstly, congratulations to George. He did a great job. It’s really great for the team.” He acknowledged the hard work put in by the team to bring upgrades and hailed Russell’s achievement as a huge boost for everyone back at the factory.
“The car was feeling great all weekend, and as soon as we got to qualifying, that kind of vanished for me,” Hamilton lamented.
Earlier in the season, Hamilton had criticized the peakiness of the Pirelli compounds, and he attributed his issues to the Soft tyre not being in the correct operating window. “The grip just disappears from me,” he explained. “So, [practice] 3, I had plenty of pace in me, and then get to qualifying, and the tyres don’t work.”
Hamilton denied experimenting with set-up changes on his W15 between the sessions, disclosing that “nothing had changed on the car.” Russell, on the other hand, conceded that he was surprised he couldn’t improve on his final Q3 attempt, despite having been on worn Soft rubber to post his provisional pole benchmark.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff proclaimed that the team was unable to decipher the reason behind its earlier pace potential not being replicated come the final segment. “It seemed that Lewis was actually having the upper hand, and both cars comfortably beating everyone,” the Austrian reviewed. “Then at the end, it got so tight, also for George and Lewis, that the time didn’t show up. We can’t comprehend at the moment why it wasn’t a little bit more in our favour.”
The unexpected twist has left the Formula 1 community intrigued, with many wondering what went wrong for Hamilton and Mercedes in qualifying. As the teams prepare for the Canadian Grand Prix, this sudden grip loss has added an extra layer of complexity to the weekend’s proceedings.
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