Mercedes received a glimmer of hope during Q2, when Hamilton achieved third place, behind the Red Bull duo, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. At that moment, car #44 was only slightly slower than the best time by a tenth and a bit.
However, when they pushed their limits to the maximum, reality hit hard. Hamilton ended up in seventh place and Russell in ninth, with their best efforts being half a second behind Verstappen’s pole-position time.
To make matters worse, both McLarens and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin will start ahead of them, highlighting the superiority of customers over suppliers.
Naturally, this result was disappointing for Wolff, who summed up: “Seventh place, ninth place is not pleasant. If there is a positive aspect, it is that Suzuka was one of our worst tracks last year. And we are only a tenth away from a solid position at the front. Let’s consider this as a small victory.”
Wolff acknowledged the challenges they face with the W15, which has proven difficult for the former world champions to handle under the current F1 rules. However, he refrained from assigning blame, stating: “I don’t believe our car has been terrible. We tried something completely new, which brought us very close to the top. In fact, we are now halfway to McLaren compared to last year. That’s a positive aspect.”
He further added: “You can always do the math: A tenth and you’re on the second row of the grid. Is that satisfying or not? I’m not sure. Overall, it’s a disappointing result. However, I can find some positivity in our performance.”
Unfortunately, when discussing race pace and their position relative to other teams before the 35th Grand Prix in Suzuka on Sunday, Wolff admitted: “We are exactly where we are. Unfortunately, there is not much difference between the teams.”
He predicted: “Ferrari had the best long-term performance. I hope Leclerc makes significant progress. On the other hand, McLaren did not perform well in their long runs, and Alonso had a below-par long run. However, overtaking is challenging. The real action will happen in the midfield.”
After the session, where Hamilton emerged victorious on five occasions, he shared his thoughts on his last qualifying as a Mercedes driver in Suzuka. He stated: “Qualifying was generally a very positive session. We made significant improvements to the car and its stability throughout the weekend so far.
“I felt much more comfortable in the car compared to earlier this year, although there are areas that still need improvement. However, we have taken steps in the right direction. When we raced here six months ago, we were over a second behind, but we managed to reduce that gap to the front and our closest rivals.
“Obviously, I was hoping for better results and 7th place is not satisfactory. However, we acknowledge that our car is a work in progress,” Hamilton conveyed in the Mercedes qualifying report.
Regarding the upcoming Grand Prix on Sunday, Hamilton commented: “The race will revolve a lot around tire degradation. Our pace in long runs seemed comparable to others during Friday’s practice sessions, so we will see if that holds true on Sunday. I anticipate a close competition tomorrow and hope we can maximize all contributing factors and secure valuable points.”
In the other Mercedes car, Russell fell short of his teammate by a quarter of a second, resulting in him starting a few rows back in the middle of the pack on Sunday. He summed up: “The competition between us, McLaren, Ferrari, and Aston Martin out there was incredibly fierce.
“After the third free practice, we knew there would be only a small margin of one or two tenths between all these cars, and that’s exactly what happened. If you didn’t do a great lap, you would end up in P9, which is what happened to me today. I made a mistake on my final lap, and it’s a bit disappointing, but that’s just how things are sometimes.
“However, this is not the most challenging circuit to overtake on, and with tire degradation and different strategies, we can expect to make progress tomorrow. A lot can happen.
“We started this season with several high-speed tracks, and we know that’s where our car’s weakness lies. We knew this weekend wouldn’t show our best performance.
“It’s beneficial that we are exposing these weaknesses, as it gives us a better understanding of the foundation we are building on and improving. It sets a clear path for us to get better,” Russell added.
Significant improvements are needed if they aspire to challenge for a place on the podium, let alone win. At the moment, Mercedes seems to be directionless in terms of their overall package. However, only time will tell if Wolff’s earlier statement – “However, I see a trend that what we tried worked” – will prove accurate.
© 2024
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