In the qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton’s “good feeling” with his W15 suddenly disappeared.
Three tenths up in FP3 in Montreal, Lewis Hamilton could do nothing to challenge George Russell for pole position in qualifying when his great feeling with his W15 “vanished”.
Hamilton’s Canadian Grand Prix weekend got off to a great start as he expressed optimism after a strong beginning on Friday, thanks to the upgraded front wing provided by Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton unable to join pole battle in Canada
“I do feel like we’re closer to the front this weekend,” he added.
In Saturday’s final practice, he took his Friday feeling to another level by setting a P1 time that was 0.374s faster than Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Unfortunately, that is where the positive emotions came to an end.
Although the Mercedes driver made it through to the pole position shoot-out on Saturday afternoon with the second quickest time in Q2, where he was right behind his team-mate Russell on the timesheet, a lack of grip in the final segment meant he finished down in seventh place.
Russell set the pole position time, with Hamilton trailing behind by 0.280s.
His positive feeling towards his W15 suddenly disappeared, according to him.
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He informed Sky Sports that the car had been performing exceptionally well throughout the entire weekend.
First and foremost, I would like to extend my congratulations to George for his outstanding performance. This achievement is truly remarkable for our team, and it serves as a testament to the immense dedication and hard work put in by everyone at the factory to develop these upgrades. This success is a significant morale booster for all individuals involved in the project.
“The car had been performing exceptionally well throughout the weekend, but once I reached the qualifying round, that feeling disappeared.”
He added, “I suddenly lost the grip. During FP3, I had a good amount of speed, but when it came to qualifying, the tires didn’t perform as expected.”
When asked if any modifications had been made to the car, he shook his head and responded, “No changes were made to the car.”
The suggestion that the track conditions played a role with a few drops of rain falling midway through qualifying was denied by the seven-time World Champion.
“The conditions were excellent,” he informed the media. “They were ideal, but unfortunately, the tires didn’t perform as expected throughout the entire session. I simply lacked the necessary grip.”
“My half-second advantage in FP3 vanished effortlessly.”
Hamilton’s latest qualifying defeat to Russell leaves him trailing his compatriot 8-1.
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