The Mercedes pilot lost over nine tenths to Verstappen. Russell’s deficit was more than a second and a half.
Lewis Hamilton (12th in practice / 3rd in qualifying)
The seven-time world champion will try to win the podium on Sunday at one of his favorite tracks. But he has respect for Red Bull’s speed.
“I am satisfied with today’s result. It was a hectic qualifying and the track was constantly drying out. At the beginning it was quite slippery and the visibility was not the best. With the track drying up, you know you’ll keep improving, so you try to go all out. That’s why we waited at the end of the pit lane at the start of each section. The team did a good job getting us to the circuit at a time when the track was clear. I concentrated on getting the most out of the given conditions.
In the end, however, we still lost a lot to Max. His bike was really impressive. But we are pleased to be starting where we are starting. On Sunday, Max will be behind me, but the goal is definitely the podium and chasing the guys at the front. In the first practice almost no one drove anything, so I hope our race speed is decent.
Setting up the car before qualifying was quite a lottery. The car behaved nicely, but we were losing a lot of time in the middle sector. We sit down with the data and study it to see where we can improve. We are off to a decent start,” believes Hamilton.
George Russell (13th in practice / 8th in qualifying)
“It was a dynamic qualification. But we lacked speed and I don’t know why. I usually enjoy the changeable weather and the drying track, but this time I couldn’t. We have a lot of data to study. We know that qualification may not be decisive here, but we would certainly like to start from a higher position.
The lack of wheels in the first practice didn’t matter much, it’s the same for everyone. Sure, you always want to drive as much as possible, but the fact is that the feel of the car wasn’t bad. We have a lot to do overnight,” Russell knows.
2023-07-28 19:42:39
#Hamilton #slipped #Vestappens #speed
