Lewis Hamilton’s performance in the qualifying session for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix came as a surprise as he could only secure the 11th spot on the grid.
Reports suggest a discord between Hamilton and Toto Wolff regarding the Mercedes W15 car following the seven-time world champion’s challenging qualifying stint in Australia. Hamilton’s finish in Q3 landed him in 11th place, trailing three spots behind his teammate George Russell.
This placement marks Hamilton’s lowest grid position at Albert Park in 14 years, contrasting sharply with his previous record of starting from pole position on eight occasions.
With only eight points garnered from the initial two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Hamilton seems to disagree with Wolff’s optimism about the potential of his current car to compete for race victories.
Ted Kravitz shed light on the rift between Hamilton and Wolff, stating, “Toto Wolff – he still believes that this car (W15) is somehow going to get there but clearly, I don’t think Lewis Hamilton believes it.
“I think Lewis Hamilton thinks it’s cursed with the same bad handing characteristics in the rear of the car that last year’s car – and the car the year before it – had as well. And clearly, this car is still not right.”
Kravitz additionally asserted that the team principal personally conveyed his optimism about the team’s potential to reverse the situation, a sentiment Hamilton has already publicly rejected. “Toto when I spoke to him just now said ‘I still think we can make it right’,” he added.
“But Lewis pretty much wrote off this year’s world championship. Lewis made the point himself that he is now 43 points off Max Verstappen after just two races, he has eight points and Max has 51. It might not be the golden goodbye to Mercedes before he goes to Ferrari.”
Indeed, Hamilton has not claimed victory in a Grand Prix race since December 2021, marking a dry spell that is unlikely to conclude in Melbourne. Following the qualifying session, he seemed perplexed when attempting to elucidate why he was being outperformed by teammate Russell.
“It’s just a flat feeling,” Hamilton stated. “It’s not great. I’m less consistent than George. He is doing a better job with the car. Three qualifying sessions in a row he has out-qualified me.”
Russell has accumulated 18 points thus far in 2024, and his counterpart mentioned: “He just seems to get on a lot better than I do. I’m just trying to keep my head above water and continue to realize it could be way worse.”
