Mercedes endured their worst qualifying session of the season on the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday, leaving seven-instances world champion Lewis Hamilton crushed and group boss Toto Wolff seeing no hope of catching Red Bull within the brief time period.
Hamilton was eradicated in Q2 to qualify eleventh, his worst end result at Albert Park since 2010, whereas George Russell certified seventh for Sunday’s race because the group’s hopes of rebounding in Melbourne suffered a serious blow.
Russell’s quickest lap in Q3 was a gaping eight-tenths of a second shy of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s greatest, the Dutchman taking his third pole of the season and fourth in succession.
Briton Hamilton stated there was a purchasing checklist of issues along with his automotive, whereas Wolff gave a depressing evaluation of their scenario.
“I think we have a car that’s difficult and you can be narrowly in and out of the window,” stated Wolff.
“It’s the whole interaction of aerodynamics and mechanical and the tyres. It’s never a single topic.
“But we are going to just keep our heads down and push through this.
“I think it’s an illusion to go closer to Red Bull in the short term but I still have to believe that there is more in this car.”
The day had began brightly for Mercedes, with Hamilton fourth quickest, and inside a tenth of a second of Ferrari’s tempo-setter Charles Leclerc, within the ultimate follow session (P3).
But the bubble burst in qualifying.
Hamilton stated his automotive’s inconsistency “messes with the mind”.
“I think our car is on a bit of a knife edge,” he added.
“This morning was nice with a calmer wind and then as soon as the wind picks up it gets a little bit less stable.
“I’m not sure why but it didn’t feel the same in qualifying even though we had lighter fuel. It felt better in P3 so it’s not a great feeling.”
Russell was happier along with his automotive however gave a dim preview of Mercedes’ probabilities on Sunday.
“We will be in a much better place tomorrow when we have more fuel in the car and the pace is a little slower from everybody,” he stated.
“But this circuit is not playing to our strengths.”
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – Reuters)
