Hamilton disoriented after Q2 elimination
Apart from Räikkönen's pole, the Mercedes driver's elimination was a thunderbolt in this qualifying session! In the heat of the moment, the Englishman didn't know what to make of his disappointment.
Q2 → 14th, 1:14.106 (18 laps)
Lewis Hamilton is in a fog after his premature elimination. Unable to set a benchmark time in the first fifteen minutes of Q2, the Briton was already reporting to his engineer that “something was not working on his car,” without clearly identifying the issue. The only certain thing: his constant lack of grip.
However, the light seemed to be at the end of the tunnel. In the final lap, the triple world champion was able to set a time sufficient to send him into Q3. Unfortunately, the fatal blow was dealt by Stoffel Vandoorne, who caused a yellow flag at the exit of the Pool complex. Just shy of qualification, a slight doubt remains about his own performance. Therefore, he does not blame the Belgian driver.
« I’m not entirely sure the opportunity was there » commented Hamilton. « I struggled with the car. I can’t say more at the moment. »
A little earlier, Hamilton himself had a close call when he lost control of his W08 in the Massenet corner. Unlike Stroll during FP2 on Thursday, the former McLaren driver narrowly avoided the wall. Qualified fourteenth, Hamilton will, however, move up to twelfth place after penalties were applied to Button and Vandoorne.
As on Thursday after the first two free practice sessions, Hamilton still has no idea what’s plaguing his machine: « These yellow flags at the end are unlucky. That lap could have put me in the top ten, but anyway, I was struggling to be in the top 5. We need to think about what was wrong with the car. »
From now on, all he can do is pray to Sainte-Dévote. Starting from the bottom in 2009 (19th), his climb had stopped at 12th position under the checkered flag. Tomorrow, he’ll need to do at least as well to recover some precious points, while hoping for a mishap on the Scuderia Ferrari’s side. At least, no one will be able to accuse him of downplaying the challenge ahead!
Tomorrow, I will start outside the top 10. I will try to finish as high as possible. It will be a nice Sunday behind the wheel, I think.
