Lewis Hamilton believes he could have taken pole position for the sprint race had he not had to slow down in reaction to a yellow flag.
The Mercedes driver’s mini-sector times indicated he was three-tenths of a second quicker than team mate George Russell before he had to back off due to yellow flags at turn 12. Russell missed pole position by just a hundredth of a second.“I just got unlucky with a yellow flag and that’s what it is,” Hamilton said after the sprint race qualifying session. “I was four-tenths up.”
He briefly encountered the yellow flag as he reached the braking zone for turn 12. Hamilton backed off early, but the yellow flag quickly turned green as the driver whose spin caused it, Franco Colapinto, pulled away.
However Hamilton said he was encouraged by the progress Mercedes have made this weekend after introducing a package of upgrades for their W15.
“The good thing is the team has made a step with the car,” he said. “The upgrade has clearly worked and I’m really grateful to everyone back at the factory for all the hard work over this period of time, because it’s been a tough slog for everyone to get the upgrades and make sure that they’re working.
“So it’s not the end. Tomorrow we got another chance.”
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Both Mercedes drivers appeared to struggle with their cars in the only practice session before qualifying on Friday. Hamilton had a lurid, high-speed spin through the high-speed corners in the first sector.
However he said his team did a “great job” to improve his car between the two sessions. “It’s always a bit of a gamble because you don’t know whether or not it’s going to work, the changes that you make, but you hope they do what you aim to do with them.
“And as soon as I got out [on-track] the car was night-and-day different. So it was great work from the guys in the garage, and then with Bono [Peter Bonnington] and Mike [Sansoni], they did a great job.”
Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin was also convinced Hamilton could have had pole position.
“We can take many positives but ultimately, we end the day slightly frustrated,” he said. “Lewis was on for a lap that would have been more than enough for P1. We had opted to go on the early side to avoid any interruptions with yellows on a busy track at the end of the session.”
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2024 United States Grand Prix
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An Sionnach
19th October 2024, 2:58
He should win the race, then, leaving Max and Lando to scrap for non-victory points. Leclerc second, then Russell!
J3d89
19th October 2024, 3:11
He didn’t back off at turn 12.. he messed the lap… Went deep and by a miracle kept it inside the track … Nice bed time story from lewis
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
19th October 2024, 6:42
its pretty clear from the coverage @ sky that he had to lift early, and because it upset the balance of the car in to the braking zone, he missed the apex/turn in and almost went off track.
Yes, when you lift off, engine braking is a thing. and not braking at the right rpms, at the right time, in the right way, you are not going to get a good turn. So yeah, he messed up the turn, but it was because the car was upset because of the indecisive yellow-green flags. If they had pulled the yellow flag 5 seconds earlier, he probably would have aced the lap, whether or not he would have had as much tire life left, that is the big question, because he was much faster than George in the first sector, which may or may not have been best over the whole lap.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th October 2024, 6:48
Wrong, that mini-sector had returned to green by the time he arrived into T12, so zero effect on him anymore.
Just look at the light panel on the right-hand side within T12 braking zone, which displayed green, nor did he have yellow warning lights on the steering wheel, so perfectly safe & therefore, messing up was totally on him.
Og
19th October 2024, 8:44
I think you are mistaken.
Prab
19th October 2024, 11:38
Here’s to your mind cooked rubbish.
“GPS data shows that Hamilton lifted much earlier on compared to Russell into that corner, which the seven-time champion encountered moments before the yellow flag was removed, creating a swing of almost eight tenths as Hamilton was tracking at three tenths ahead of Russell – though the former had also ran wide when trying to make up for the lift.”
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
19th October 2024, 14:32
Another one who doesn’t have all the facts
Ajaxn
19th October 2024, 15:28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2KJS5MnmSw&t=631s
Telemetry confirming what Hamilton said..
Nick T.
19th October 2024, 4:16
Oh well, luckily for him, it’s just the sprint quali. So, he’ll get a shot at substantiating his belief tomorrow.
Mayrton
19th October 2024, 10:53
Yeah, nothing lost since it is only the clown format. If George was up there, then Lewis could’ve been too. So all to play for in the normal format.
David BR (@david-br)
19th October 2024, 16:20
What’s weird is how you’re obsessed with ‘obsessive Hamilton fans’ but like Ben, Mayrton etc. you’re unable to see a Hamilton article without throwing up negative commentary. So who really is obsessed? No need to answer. You’re all tedious beyond belief.
Nick T.
19th October 2024, 18:45
Me?
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
19th October 2024, 6:22
Unfortunately the odds of Lewis overtaking Russell down the straight, even with DRS advantage is almost non. At least 9 times out of 10. BUT, looks like a good result for the team, will see if it carries through to Qualifying for the normal race. Would be nice to see Lewis land a podium this weekend. Max v. Russell off the front line should be interesting to watch. Hopefully George can pull it out of the can and we can see if the RBR can pull him in down the straight.
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
19th October 2024, 8:53
Done again by a Williams!
Ben
19th October 2024, 9:19
Why lie. He made yet another rookie mistake and got dominated by his team mate for the 15th time this season. Sad to see but Hamilton simply can’t keep pace with the others for more than a race these days. I’ll be amazed if Ferrari don’t drop him next year because I predict a Verstappen/ Perez situation when he goes up against Leclerc.
Riccard
19th October 2024, 9:55
He made his mistakes after the momentary yellows.
It might be fair to say that he was distracted, and without getting distracted, the car had the pace for pole.
After all, Russell made mistakes in the early part of the race, and finished just 0.012 off Verstappen: the pace was there.
The story of this quali for me – adding in Norris’s interview comments – is that Norris and Russell used most of their potential; Hamilton less of it; but Verstappen did the maximum possible.
As we’ve seen so many times this season, the drivers made the difference.
An Sionnach
19th October 2024, 11:19
That’s the worry for Max. You know there’s nothing else that can be done with the car. The upside is that if it’s possible, he has a good chance of delivering. It depends on whether the others can sort themselves out. Lewis and Leclerc may be a little out of position. I’m not sure about Carlos. I wonder will Piastri improve at the more technical circuits or is he a canny, instinctive, but ultimately slow racer?
Riccard
19th October 2024, 11:24
Yeah, if the others up their game in quali for the full race, his car won’t be able to compete.
But he’s hanging in there for now!
I like seeing a top driver at the peak of his powers having to fight a little. If he ultimately wins the season, he’ll deserve it. If the collective efforts of McLaren/Norris ultimately dethrone him, they’ll deserve it too. Either way, we’re watching a cracking battle.
An Sionnach
19th October 2024, 16:17
Yes, this is a bit more like Schumacher in the nineties. As he and Prost have demonstrated, the best driver still needs a good enough car. I like that Lando has things to overcome, too. I don’t think he’d have had those heart in mouth moments in Singapore if he wasn’t going for that extra point for the lap. He’s giving it everything, too. Watching the press conference, what he says is quite reasonable about Max and Red Bull deserving it if they get it. What I read in print doesn’t seem to match how Max and Lando are going about trying to beat each other. It may not always be nice, but I don’t think this will get nasty.
I think it would be good for Max not to win it this time, but his performances, keep suggesting that I should change my mind.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th October 2024, 11:49
Riccard The momentary yellows were only him mistaking a green-flashing light in the pre-T12 panel as yellow, so all on him.
N
19th October 2024, 12:31
That’s your opinion based on poor quality onboard footage, it’s clearly green as hes at the 150meter board, before that it really could be either, and im going to trust Hamiltons eyes and real life judgement over that. If it really is difficult to tell green from yellow in real life, this would be extremely dangerous and would have been an issue many times before.
Mayrton
19th October 2024, 10:55
I do not believe he was persuaded to come for Ferrari for his (nowadays) abilities, but rather for his marketing value. So nothing to worry about.
Riccard
19th October 2024, 11:25
I’m sure Ferrari wanted both. Remember, last season Hamilton had an uptick in form and drove better than Russell. That’s the driver they thought they were hiring.
N
19th October 2024, 12:33
Last time i checked Hamilton is also beating Russell this year, in the table that actually matters.
SteveP
19th October 2024, 16:43
There’s also the “home” race factor in the mix, but yeah, the track suits his style, it suits the car – and 2024 bonus, they levelled various bumps so he and Leclerc stand a chance of keeping the points this year.
SteveP
19th October 2024, 16:44
Uh – should be a reply to David BR…
David BR (@david-br)
19th October 2024, 17:01
I don’t see the home race factor, at least compared to Silverstone where Hamilton definitely always competes to his maximum and gets huge crowd support. Do you mean it gets a lot of extra support at Austin? Genuine question, I don’t know.
sam
19th October 2024, 18:02
They are getting rid of Sainz and paying him millions so, they think more of him than you ever have.
David BR (@david-br)
19th October 2024, 16:16
It would be really great if some of the people always commenting here actually knew something about Formula 1. Sadly not the case. Hamilton was .2 up on Verstappen, .4 up on Russell in the first sector alone. He had to slow for a yellow flag. So a slower lap time. What’s interesting aren’t the dull, turgid opinions of people unable to read data or understand a complex sport that’s a bit too beyond their capacities, but why Hamilton should be faster at a circuit like Austin (clue: all to do with car balance and the range of racing/approach lines available).