The Silver Arrows’ rainy FP2 on Friday went rather well, so the squad must have had high hopes for qualifying on Saturday. Unfortunately, the meeting didn’t proceed as expected. In Q3, Hamilton’s quickest time was about a second slower than Max Verstappen’s winning time. Lewis Hamilton eventually finished sixth on Saturday, but his colleague George Russell could only muster a P8.
Being the seasoned driver that he is, Lewis Hamilton offered some well-considered observations about his qualifying performance that may very well serve as the statement of the problem for the Silver Arrows camp for the Japanese Grand Prix.
When asked if Mercedes had a chance of winning in Japan, the seven-time world title champ revealed his hopes for the contest. Currently, the 37-year-old and Michael Schumacher are tied for first place in the category of “Most straight seasons with at least one win.” At 15 seasons each, the two sporting legends are tied.
Hamilton hasn’t yet had all the support he needs to realize this promise, despite the fact that he has the opportunity to shatter his own milestone and raise his stat to 16 this year. He may use a competitor to begin with who could compete against the RB18 and F1-75.
The Alpine duo will battle both of the Mercedes drivers given the grid for the Suzuka event. While Fernando Alonso is positioned directly next to Russell, Esteban Ocon begins beside Hamilton. And given the past of the two world winners involved, it will undoubtedly be a thrilling beginning.
However, there is still hope for the Brackley-based company. In a practice when the weather was a major factor, the team really stood out. Therefore, it would be foolhardy to exclude Mercedes as a danger on Sunday given the 97% chance of rain anticipated for the main race.
