Lewis Hamilton has been outperformed by his teammate at Mercedes in the ongoing F1 season. Hamilton and George Russell entered the season with high hopes, but have faced difficulties, especially during the Bahrain race and now during the Saudi Arabian GP weekend.
During the FP1 and FP2 sessions, Hamilton struggled significantly. His teammate, Russell, set a much faster pace in the other Mercedes W15 car. Surprisingly, Russell finished in second place in the FP2 session, despite claiming that the 2024 Mercedes car was designed around Hamilton, the seven-time world champion.
Hamilton, despite his efforts, only managed an eighth place. In interviews after the FP2 session, he admitted to struggling with the 2024 Mercedes car, especially with the rear end while driving at high speeds on the Jeddah track.
Although Hamilton has faced difficulties at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, there are still two race days left in the Saudi Arabian GP. Today’s qualifying session is of great importance to secure a favorable position on the track for the 50-lap race. Historically, leaders have had more success at the Jeddah event. Therefore, the upcoming FP3 session will be crucial for Hamilton to improve his performance.
“We need to keep building on our learnings and everyone will be working hard overnight to gain more performance.” George, Lewis, and Shov summarize our Thursday in Jeddah.
This is Hamilton’s last chance before qualifying to adjust the setup of his W15 car and address the issues he has faced so far. While Red Bull, Aston Martin, and Ferrari have shown strength in Saudi Arabia, the Mercedes car, driven by George Russell, has also performed well. Given these circumstances, many will be closely watching Hamilton’s W15 during the upcoming FP3 and qualifying sessions.
