Lewis Hamilton said his chances of winning the Las Vegas Grand Prix are non-existent after he qualified 10th on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
The Mercedes driver was quickest in the two practice sessions for the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Thursday and headed the times again in Q2. But he suffered a poor end to the session, making mistakes at turn 12 on his first run and turn two on his second which left him a lowly 10th on the grid.“Things didn’t work when it mattered,” Hamilton admitted after the session. “I tried, it didn’t come off.”
“I should have been on pole,” he told the official F1 channel. “But at least I’ve got pace, which is a good showing over the weekend, that’s the positive to take away.”
His team mate George Russell claimed pole position for the third time this year. But Hamilton does not believe he can get into the fight for victory from the fifth row of the grid.
“Not really, I think the race is kind of done,” he said. “Obviously the win is out of the question.
“But just a great job from George.”
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said it wasn’t immediately clear what had gone wrong for Hamilton. “He was quickest in Q2, the car was good, we need to analyse what it was,” he said.
The team has been surprised by its performance in Las Vegas. “Our car just comes alive when there is a lack of grip and it’s cold,” said Wolff.
“With our car, the feedback we get from the drivers is that it feels okay. And you hear much more complaints from other cars that there is a lack of grip.
“We just need to have next year a car that functions over all kinds of tracks. But let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Russell will start alongside Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jnr with Charles Leclerc fourth. Wolff is alert to the threat posed by the two SF-24s.
“Leclerc was quickest on a long run yesterday,” he said. “I think it’s going to be about really making sure the tyres don’t grain and then take it from there. I think any of the top teams can win tomorrow.”
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2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix
- Vowles clarifies Colapinto’s claim he was concussed in Las Vegas crash
- Norris lost title because McLaren weren’t competitive enough early on – Stella
- Ferrari are now in their longest-ever championship drought
- F1 “was trying too hard” in first year at Las Vegas – Sainz
- 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd November 2024, 9:24
Or P2 at least, but he can only blame himself for messing up both Q3 attempts.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
24th November 2024, 2:14
maybe. The problem is Hamilton doesn’t understand the rear of his car, and his teammate is dramatically faster out of the turns, always. Which means either HAM sucks at corner exit, which I doubt, or his teammate is doing something different which his team is now clueing him on to, or they are hiding from him.
The real question is what is his race engineer doing about something that has been an issue for at least a whole season. I would like to know how is Russell almost always pulling away from Hamilton down the straight, even with HAM has DRS. This and why RBR fell off before Miami are really interesting in my book.
Applebook
23rd November 2024, 9:31
At this point in his career, making it into Q3 with the fastest car is already pole for him. If a 107% rule exists for teams in F1, a similar rule should exist among the teammates. If you’re consistently so much second slower than your teammate in qualifying, you should be banned from F1. Tired of seeing old and slow drivers clogging up the field and preventing young talent from entering.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
23rd November 2024, 17:30
I understand your craving attention with this comment but I’ll bite. Hamilton is having a poor season, no doubt but he’s led 2 of the 3 practice sessions and was fastest in the session directly before q3. He’s many things – slow is not one of them.
As for young drivers, we’ve had Bearman and Colapinto this season make debuts. Next year we’ll have first full seasons for Bearman, Antonelli, Lawson, Doohan, Bortaletto and possibly Colapinto. That’s 30% of the grid and we’re losing Magnussen, Bottas and Ricciardo. 2025 will be the youngest grid of all time. The oldest driver in the top 4 of the championship has recently turned 27. There’s one driver over 30 in the top 6 and his 30th birthday was in September.
How much younger and how much more change can there be?
daniel
23rd November 2024, 17:48
Can’t agree more.
SPArtacus
23rd November 2024, 19:01
Spare me.
Dex
23rd November 2024, 20:27
His job is not to let new drivers come in by sacrificing his own career (do you honestly plan on doing this yourself, whatever your job may be?). I never was Lewis’ fan (but having no negative feelings either, it’s mostly thanks to British media I guess), but you’re obviously making fun, or you’re extremely biased for some reason.
Hamilton won races this year if I remember correctly, and he’s not the worst teammate in F1, performance-wise. As for his age, why should I care about any driver’s age? I’m not watching some junior league, but F1. Also, it’s nice to show at least some respect. I know this is internet and all, but still…
Honda
24th November 2024, 3:39
100% agreed. It is a shame Hamilton and Alonso are blocking a seat. These old guys have no purpose to be in F1. What else is left for them to do ? is beyond me. Alonso is lucky his team mate is Stroll. Leclerc should finish whatever is left in Hamilton for good. He is asking for it and Leclec is going to do what he did to Vettel.
Even if younger driver make mistakes and are raw it is more exciting. I feel for Sainz, not sure he can do much in Williams. I thought Rosberg was crazy to walk away from millions of $ contract, driving the best car in F1. He actually had few more years left in him but now I appreciate him. I think Max won’t stick around forever as well.
SPArtacus
24th November 2024, 6:05
Are you for real? Last season Lewis and Fernando beat every driver not in a Red Bull despite neither having the second best car. You sound as if you know nothing about F1. What do you expect Alonso to do in a car that is garbage. When it was even still just decent he was putting it P3 in quali in the wet while his teammate was nowhere. Hamilton’s 2024 has been bad, but he’s still only what, two points away from George. You’re not complaining about agents of average like Albon, Gasly, upcoming rookies like Doohan, etc., but you’re trying to kick out two of F1’s greatest ever driver based on one having a single bad season and the other driving a crap car? Their age doesn’t matter. It’s what they do in the car. Even if they weren’t former champions, neither would be even close to being considered for replacement based on their past three seasons.
Meanwhile, your favorite driver is Yuki (who I like) and you think he deserves to be in F1 more than Alonso or Hamilton? Oh please.
SPArtacus
24th November 2024, 6:10
Hell, I’ll add that Norris and OP have been more average this season. No way Alonso or Hamilton aren’t closer to Max in the McLaren. Hamilton has never thrived in tricky cars, but his ceiling is super high in great cars. Norris has only ONE more win than Hamilton in the best car on the grid for 75% of the season.
Ben
23rd November 2024, 9:42
Story of his woeful season. Whenever the Mercedes is the best car he makes massive mistakes and when the car isn’t the best he just has zero pace.
Mercedes were clearly right to get rid of him.
SteveP
23rd November 2024, 11:18
I’m guessing you didn’t read any of the articles over the last 11 months that covered Lewis signing for Ferrari and then explaining to Toto.
Ben
23rd November 2024, 12:53
Not quite. He wanted to stay at Mercedes but they’d only offer him a 1 year deal. They knew he’s passed it and they had a quicker drivers in Russell and Kimi so clearly wanted him gone for 2026.
Ferrari saw the huge marketing opportunity to use Hamilton for a year and jumped at it. They bumped their share price, they’ll also massively increase their merch sales and sponsorship revenue next year to help with 2026 development. Hamilton will be thrashed by Leclerc next year allowing Ferrari to drop him for 2026 and bring in Bearman.
SteveP
23rd November 2024, 13:57
It was a 1+1, he was already in it, and it had a break clause at the start of 2025 point.
Hamilton activated that clause.
You’re correct it was not a traditional multi-year deal, and it set the opportunity for change, but you are inaccurate with the only a one-year deal comment.
Hamilton vs. Leclerc? Who knows?
I would say that I think Leclerc is extraordinarily lucky that it is Sainz walking out of the door in a few weeks.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
23rd November 2024, 20:30
Yeah but let’s be honest – look at Max now. In Brazil everyone was saying how good he was and Gasly is now quicker in a vastly slower car. And Gasly didn’t do well at Red Bull – imagine if the car suited him, he would have probably had 90 wins by now while Max would have been driving for Williams with Logan Sargeant as his teammate to get the most competition :-)
It’s all relative in the end.
MichaelN
23rd November 2024, 17:19
He’s only two points behind Russell in the standings, even with this “woeful” season.
Hamilton hasn’t gelled with this car, and if Hamilton has one weakness, it’s that he needs total confidence to perform at his best. It hurts his chances in qualifying, and he’s prone to sulking; he is one of the few champions I’ve ever heard ask his team to retire the car. He needs to get out of this rut, and go elsewhere. And despite all this – he’s still scoring solid points.
SPArtacus
23rd November 2024, 19:05
+1
David BR (@david-br)
23rd November 2024, 21:08
I guess this is the other Ben…
IPBA
23rd November 2024, 9:55
Ah yes those massive mistakes in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Got yah.
osnola
23rd November 2024, 15:35
That was the autopilot option by Mercedes /s
SPArtacus
23rd November 2024, 19:08
To be fair, are we going to seriously suggest that any of F1’s other best drivers like MV or FA aren’t winning 6-7+ WDCs in that car? What was impressive about Lewis was his ruthless consistency compared to teammates and how he utterly crushed Bottas.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
23rd November 2024, 20:28
Or they could have done like Gasly, Albon, Perez and ended up without a single podium all those years. Now Gasly is faster than Max in a 2 second slower car. Last week Max was amazing, now he should be delivering food with a low tip for being slow.
SPArtacus
23rd November 2024, 20:36
lol
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
23rd November 2024, 10:00
2022, 2023 and now 2024 passes and we’re still waiting for Hamilton’s “best”.
SPArtacus
23rd November 2024, 20:37
Hamilton was great in 2023.
David BR (@david-br)
23rd November 2024, 21:09
@armchairexpert I’m thinking of restuffing my sofa, any tips?
Oh sorry, wrong thread.
PlosslF1 (@f1-ploss)
23rd November 2024, 22:41
And todays winner of the Internet is….
Peat Smoke
23rd November 2024, 10:14
Clarkson has been right.
David BR (@david-br)
23rd November 2024, 21:12
That would be Jeremy ‘I’ve got a cunning wheeze to avoid inheritance tax’ Clarkson?
Oleg
23rd November 2024, 11:24
This season is not good for Hamilton.
And here the psychological moment of leaving for Ferrari for the next year was clearly of great importance.
But for those who rejoice in Hamilton’s failures, I can say:
“Don’t rush to bury Hamilton. He will give you many more reasons for your frustration.”
Benhur
23rd November 2024, 12:35
And that 8th WDC by 2057 surely (by then Max will have 15 and Fernando 9 LOLz)
Ben
23rd November 2024, 12:54
I’ll believe it when I see it Oleg. He can’t even set a lap time when it counts in the best car on the grid.
Oleg
24th November 2024, 7:37
I’ll believe you when you name someone who has never made mistakes, even on the best car on the grid
Primo
23rd November 2024, 13:50
Lando Norris said in Race Fans, just a few weeks ago, that Lewis “Love’s to play these head/mind games!!” As he has for many, many years. So simply expect Lewis, to copy the Russell chassis set up, to easily move to the front, where Russell already is, as the race progresses. Mercedes, should easily win this one
Oxnard (@montalvo)
23rd November 2024, 14:51
‘Could have’ Lewis, not ‘should have’.
Butthead
23rd November 2024, 15:37
I feel very sad for him, been a massive fan of him but this year has been his bridge too far , he really should have won his 8 th ( he did but fir massi ) then i believe he would have walked away from F1 8 times champ and kept his reputation intact.
Stayed too long tying to recapture what was stolen.
PlosslF1 (@f1-ploss)
23rd November 2024, 22:45
I’am so looking forward to next year when it goes from ‘ His over the Hill ‘ to ‘ Its all the Car ‘… lol
Phil
24th November 2024, 0:17
These days happen even to the best. In case anyone forgot, the same thing happened to none other than Hamilton’s future teammate in Singapore