The disastrous season of Lewis Hamilton in 2024 continues, as the British driver was eliminated in the first round of Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix. The struggles of the Mercedes era of ground effect persist, as Hamilton faces yet another disappointing situation in the race. Despite the mediocre performance of the W15, Hamilton had a good showing in the Sprint race and managed to secure a second place. However, his hopes were dashed during the Qualifying for the main race, when he suffered a highly disappointing elimination in Q1.
Following a disappointing start to the season, Hamilton was hopeful of making a recovery. He even managed to score some points for the Silver Arrows in the sprint race. However, the challenges posed by the Mercedes challenger were evident, as Hamilton faced issues in the low-speed corners of the Shanghai circuit. Despite this, the Brackley team remained optimistic about securing a front-row start based on the results of the sprint qualifying.
Unfortunately, Hamilton’s nightmare season continued as he was eliminated from the Q1 session of Qualifying. The seven-time world champion will start Sunday’s race in China from 18th position. This is the first time since Saudi Arabia in 2022 that Hamilton has failed to advance beyond Q1. Expressing his disappointment, Hamilton apologized to the team over the team radio.
In contrast to Hamilton’s struggles, George Russell had a more successful result in the Q1 session. The 26-year-old driver managed to get through the first session and advance to Q2. Given the challenging conditions of the Shanghai Circuit, Russell considered himself lucky to keep the W15 on track. Many drivers have been facing difficulties with braking in the low-speed corners.
Russell is currently fighting to help Mercedes secure valuable points throughout the Chinese weekend. Hamilton’s hopes of scoring points were crushed due to the challenger W15’s below-par performance. The seven-time world champion will need to push even harder to have a chance of scoring points. As a result, the Chinese Grand Prix promises to be an exciting event as we witness the performance of the Silver Arrows.
Red Bull’s dominant performance also suffered due to the results in the sprint qualifying. However, Mercedes still has a long way to go to match Milton Keynes’ performance. Currently, Brackley is involved in a fierce battle with Aston Martin to secure a higher finishing position. Therefore, the Chinese Grand Prix will showcase intense competition between the Silverstone and Brackley teams.
