Lewis Hamilton was not fast enough to get into Q3 during qualifying for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Australia. The Mercedes driver had to settle for eleventh place, a disappointing result he was accustomed to.
Hamilton had a tough time at Albert Park all weekend. He finished ninth in the first free practice. During a trip over the rough grass in Turn 1, he damaged the W15's floor mats. In the second free practice, he did not exceed eighteenth place. the Silver arrows They were playing around with the setup and it seemed to help them early Saturday morning. The seven-time world champion set the fourth fastest time in FP3. However, in qualifying he was actually eliminated in Q2 and it was Hamilton's first time in Melbourne since 2010. He also finished 11th. His teammate George Russell managed to qualify for a place in Q3 and will start the race from seventh position.
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Russell was again faster than Hamilton
“I'm getting used to it,” Hamilton replied, laughing like a farmer with a toothache. “I'm getting used to not getting out of Q2.” F1 TV What I felt when I heard on the radio was that he wasn't fast enough to get a place in Q3. “I don't have a real feeling about it. It's not great, but hey… I'm not performing as consistently as George at the moment. He's qualified better than me three times this season.”
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Head above water
Mercedes experiments with the W15 setup a lot and goes from one extreme to another of the setup during race weekends. According to Hamilton, Russell can handle that better than him. “I'm just trying to keep my head above water and constantly realize things could be worse.” In Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Hamilton barely made it into Q3 and started the races in the Middle East from ninth and eighth respectively. So 11th in Australia would be his worst starting position of the season so far.
