Lewis Hamilton’s old qualifying weakness catches up with him in Monza Q3 despite good omens – while the Brit puts himself down, Toto Wolff has a suspicion
One or two Tifosi had probably already prepared to prophylactically cheer Ferrari’s new savior on Saturday: After best times in the second and third practice sessions, as well as the fastest lap in Q2, Lewis Hamilton was one of the favorites for pole in Monza
So it’s no wonder that the Brit is disillusioned and disappointed after sixth place: “Oh, I’m pissed off,” says Hamilton after qualifying: “Absolutely pissed off because I should have been on pole! I think it should have been at least the front row of the grid.”
When it comes to the reason for his anger, however, the next year’s Ferrari driver takes it out on himself: “I just didn’t get the job done at the end, I lost a tenth and a half in turns one and two, then another tenth in the last corner. So there’s no one to blame but myself.”
However, the record-breaking world champion’s difficulties in qualifying are nothing new; they are a recurring theme throughout Hamilton’s Saturdays in 2024: “Qualifying has been my weakness for a while now, and I just can’t understand it,” says Hamilton, who at least remains combative: “I’ll keep trying. ”
Hamilton slaps himself in the face: “Absolutely ridiculous of me ”
The Briton finishes ahead of the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, but behind both Ferraris and, above all, team-mate George Russell, who at least finishes third on the grid for the Silver Arrows. But Hamilton would even have dared to fight with the McLarens at the front …
Instead, “I’ll probably be biting myself in the ass a bit over the next few hours,” admits the Briton, who is certainly not sparing with self-criticism: “I just didn’t get the maximum out of it,” says Hamilton: “Absolutely ridiculous of me, completely unacceptable. That’s totally down to me, nobody else. “
However, Hamilton was full of praise for his team: “We have a good race car and the team did a fantastic job this weekend. The car feels so much better than yesterday, and than in the last race. And the team deserved better. Maybe they’ll get it with Kimi,” explains Hamilton in reference to successor Antonelli, who was officially announced on Saturday morning.
Wolff believes: Slipstream could have hurt
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff takes a much more relaxed view of the matter after qualifying than his visibly frustrated driver, defending Hamilton: “We’re talking about so little difference. I mean, it’s half a tenth or so that makes the difference between three or four positions, so you can’t really say screwed up,” explained the Viennese on Sky with a view to the result.
With regard to Hamilton’s problems, Wolff says: “I think that Lewis was perhaps a little too close (to the car in front). And we now believe that slipstreaming does more harm than good. Because you then drive around in such turbulence with these cars. And that might be it.”
Turbulence from the car in front, instead of a clear run, is something Hamilton will definitely have to deal with in the race – for the Briton himself the next reason to be annoyed: “The chance I had to fight for victory is out of the window. I think tomorrow I’ll just have to try and catch up as best I can and see if I can get past the Ferraris and maybe challenge for the podium. “
