Lewis Hamilton was unable to explain his Mercedes team's lack of pace in qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix after failing to make it into the top 10.
Lewis Hamilton was unable to explain his Mercedes team's lack of pace in qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix after failing to make it into the top 10.Hamilton said he had been "optimistic" of a strong showing after being fourth fastest in final practice, less than 0.1 seconds off the pace-setting Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
But the team have discovered that the car lacks pace in high-speed corners - and that it does not generate the downforce on track that its simulations suggest it should. "If we can find a way of that goodness in the car, making it more consistent and holding onto that, maybe we can be more competitive. There's lots of work we need to do but everyone's working as hard as they can.""It's so tight out there between the top five teams bar Red Bull," he said.
The star performance of the session, though, was arguably from Sainz, who was next best after Verstappen just 15 days after having surgery in Saudi Arabia after being diagnosed with appendicitis. "But you get used to it. There is no pain. There is nothing to worry about. It's just a weird feeling that you have to get used to while driving, especially these circuits.
There are, however, concerns about tyre life as a result of Pirelli deploying its three softest compound options this weekend.
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