Lewis Hamilton has queried whether Mercedes’ Formula 1 rivals are running with more fuel in practice amid his latest qualifying struggle at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Hamilton was enthused with how his Mercedes W15 car was handling through the opening two practice sessions as he propped up inside the top three spots in both.
But a running theme this term that has seen Hamilton’s pace dissipate when it counts occurred as he wound up seventh, two spots behind team-mate George Russell.
The Briton asserted that his recent plight in a race weekend came as no surprise and made him ponder whether the competition is concealing more speed in practice.
“Every Saturday, it’s the same, so I’m not really surprised,” Hamilton lamented.
“FP1 and FP2, the car felt amazing and I was really on it, literally from lap one, [we could] compete down the front.
“Sometimes you wonder when you get to Saturday whether the others were heavier in FP1 and FP2.”
Hamilton was adamant on Friday that he was planning not to tinker with his car’s set-up to avoid going too extreme in the other direction as has happened in the past.
The seven-time F1 champion has clarified that no substantial changes were made between sessions as he attributed his dip to the Pirelli tyres not delivering him grip.
“As I said, it felt great yesterday,” he added.
“Then as soon as we started today, I barely changed anything to the car because I didn’t want to mess anything up, and the tyres wouldn’t work.
“All day they’ve not worked. The last lap, like the last sector, the tyres just started to work, but we missed it.”
Hamilton suspects that a place on the second row was attainable had he been able to generate the temperature in the Soft compound that was needed on his out lap.
“I think we have a car that could have been – maybe not the front row, the Ferraris are too strong – at least third or fourth today, but the tyres weren’t working,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Hamilton remains optimistic that Mercedes’ troubles with warming up the tyres will be an advantage in the race when it comes to managing the rubber.
“I’m hopeful,” he previewed. “It’s a long race tomorrow I think anything could happen.
“Looking after the tyres, maximising the tyre performance is going to be key tomorrow, long runs, minimising deg if possible, we’ll see.
“I’ll be giving it everything tomorrow for sure.”
