The performance of Lewis Hamilton in the Qualifying round for the Australian GP was disappointing as he failed to secure a spot among the top 10. The challenger Mercedes W15 faced persistent issues that hampered its performance. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, expressed his disappointment after being eliminated early in the Q2 session.
The challenger W15 encountered significant problems during the FP2 session on Friday, which continued to affect its performance during Qualifying. Hamilton qualified in 13th place for the race on Sunday and would need to push hard to achieve a decent result. Despite feeling that the car was “great” during the third practice session, the British driver mentioned that inconsistencies with the challenger affected his performance and prevented him from achieving better results.
Furthermore, the W15 challenger showed high inconsistency during moments of high speed. Hamilton openly stated that the car was on the limit in terms of performance. The 39-year-old driver explained how the car became unstable in windy conditions. Although the W15 showed some improvement during FP3, the issues became more prominent during Qualifying, according to Hamilton.
The initial difficulties faced by Mercedes raised doubts among fans regarding the potential of the German manufacturer. However, the team boss remains resilient against criticism and demonstrates confidence in Mercedes. Wolff acknowledged that the car presented challenges and operated within a narrow range of performance due to the interaction between its aerodynamics, mechanical components, and tires.
Despite the difficulties, Wolff believes there is untapped potential in the challenging W15. The team boss mentioned Hamilton’s performance in FP3 and how the chassis started to perform better. However, at the moment, the team will have to work hard to find the right balance for the car in order to achieve better results.
Mercedes seems to be losing ground to McLaren in the constructors’ standings as well. This became evident when both McLaren drivers outperformed the Silver Arrows in Qualifying. Consequently, Hamilton will need to make a strong recovery in the race if he wants to keep up with the competition for the world championship.
