In Monaco, Lewis Hamilton opted for the old Mercedes front wing during the race.
Falling 7-1 behind George Russell in qualifying and blaming that on his team-mate getting Mercedes’ new front wing in Monaco, Jamie Chadwick says Lewis Hamilton is “spinning” the narrative.
Arriving in Monaco 6-1 down on Russell in the intra-Mercedes team-mate qualifying battle, Lewis Hamilton put his latest defeat to his team-mate down to Russell running Mercedes’ new front wing in Monte Carlo.
Lewis Hamilton doesn’t expect to beat George Russell in 2024 qualifying
Hamilton, who qualified in P7, expressed that he expected it to be challenging to surpass Russell in qualifying, as he had the upgraded component. Nevertheless, he was delighted to witness the introduction of upgrades, highlighting the positive aspect.
“I already know automatically that I’m going to lose two-tenths going into qualifying. That’s definitely frustrating.”
Hamilton admitted that he does not expect to outperform George in qualifying this year, but when challenged on this statement, he simply responded with a vague “we’ll see.”
However, instead of analyzing Hamilton’s comment extensively, Chadwick, Williams development driver, believes Hamilton is manipulating the situation to fit his own story.
Chadwick informed Channel 4, “I believe he is knowledgeable in his actions.”
“He’s manipulating the narrative to create the impression that he potentially hasn’t received the upgrades this weekend. Personally, I have doubts about this because a team like Mercedes typically introduces upgrades for both cars consistently.”
There is no necessity for them to divide it among the two cars.
In my opinion, I believe he should definitely give credit to George. His record of 7-1 against someone as talented as Lewis Hamilton is truly remarkable.
“I believe Lewis is likely displeased with that, to be frank. And that is the origin of that statement.”
The 2024 team-mate wars in numbers
F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates
F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Hamilton did in fact not have the upgraded front wing in Monaco, one report claiming the drivers tossed a coin to decide who would run it, another by Jenson Button saying the seven-time World Champion opted not to as damaging the wing in qualifying would’ve meant a pit lane start as he would’ve had to revert to an old spec.
Chadwick believes that Hamilton should start getting accustomed to being second on the list for new Mercedes parts.
“He’s set to depart next year,” she remarked. “George is expected to occupy that seat for an extended period, so it’s crucial to retain both the seat and George’s satisfaction.”
“Of course, Lewis may not be pleased, but it’s undeniable that he has done an incredible job and is outperforming him.”
Russell has outperformed his team-mates in both qualifying and race statistics on Hamilton. Additionally, he holds a lead in the Drivers’ standings with 54 points compared to his team-mates’ 42.
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