Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes nonetheless have extra to do to compete with their rivals in qualifying after falling wanting the entrance row in Spain.
His group mate George Russell took pole place two weeks in the past on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve which has principally sluggish and quick corners. Across the longer, quicker corners of the Circuit de Catalunya this weekend the Mercedes drivers certified on the second row, three-tenths of a second off the tempo.
Hamilton believes the group have to concentrate on mastering how their tyres carry out to ensure that the drivers to get essentially the most out of the W15 in qualifying trim.
“I nonetheless misplaced slightly bit [of performance] going into quali,” he mentioned. “It’s all about perspective, possibly they simply moved forwards, however I undoubtedly really feel like there was slightly bit extra.
“However simply as you begin to push the automotive, it doesn’t prefer it. So in observe, once you go away slightly little bit of margin, the automotive feels fairly good. Nevertheless it’s once you begin to actually lean on it to try to get that further little bit of lap outing the place we actually battle.
“I feel it’s all within the tyres. You noticed in [Q1] I used to be seven tenths down attributable to a difficulty with the [tyre] blankets. After which we acquired it sorted for the next periods. So it places you slightly bit on the again foot.
“However in any other case the automotive, as I mentioned, it’s good that we’re up right here and it’s the most effective qualifying I’ve had this yr, so I’m actually grateful for it.”
Advert | Turn into a RaceFans supporter and
Hamilton’s third place is the primary time he has certified within the high three for a grand prix this season. “It’s good to be again up right here,” he mentioned within the press convention afterwards. “I miss being on this couch, though it’s not from Ikea.
“However usually, it’s nice to see that we’re progressing. Actually, you’ve seen over the past couple of races that we’re slowly climbing nearer to the blokes up entrance. So I feel there’s slightly bit extra efficiency within the automotive at the moment.
“Nevertheless it’s actually on the knife-edge, so we’ve acquired some enhancements to make to the automotive. However I’m actually completely satisfied to be P3, it’s a fairly great spot to be in for the beginning with that lengthy straight down to show one.”
He mentioned the group’s deficit to pole-winner Lando Norris was “a fairly large chunk” however “for a observe like this, it’s not too unhealthy.”
“By means of the lap, there’s slightly little bit of time [lost], I feel. It most likely may have been two tenths, however nonetheless they’ve a slight benefit.
“However for us to be that shut on the observe like this can be a actual good exhibiting that we’re getting in the correct path. We’ve acquired some enhancements that we have to convey over the subsequent few races to ensure that us to be correctly in vary of these guys.”
Advert | Turn into a RaceFans supporter and
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a day by day electronic mail with all our newest tales – and nothing else. No advertising and marketing, no adverts. Enroll right here:
2024 Spanish Grand Prix
Browse all 2024 Spanish Grand Prix articles
