Lewis Hamilton’s performance in the Qualifying round for the Australian GP was disappointing as he failed to secure a spot in the top 10. The Mercedes W15 challenger faced persistent issues that hindered its performance. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, expressed his disappointment after being eliminated early in the Q2 session.
The W15 challenger encountered significant problems during the FP2 session on Friday, which continued to affect its performance during Qualifying. Hamilton qualified in 13th place for the race on Sunday and would need to push himself to achieve a decent result. Despite feeling that the car was “great” during the third practice session, the British driver mentioned that the inconsistencies with the challenger affected his performance and prevented him from achieving better results.
Furthermore, the W15 challenger demonstrated high inconsistency during high-speed moments. Hamilton openly stated that the car was on a precarious edge in terms of performance. The 39-year-old driver explained how the car became unstable in windy conditions. Although the W15 showed some improvement during FP3, the issues became more prominent during Qualifying, according to Hamilton.
The early struggles faced by Mercedes have raised doubts among fans regarding the potential of the German manufacturer. However, the team principal remains resilient against the criticism and displays confidence in Mercedes. Wolff acknowledged that the car presented challenges and operated within a narrow performance range due to the interaction between its aerodynamics, mechanical components, and tires.
Despite the difficulties, Wolff believes that there is untapped potential in the W15 challenger. The team principal referred to Hamilton’s performance in FP3 and how the chassis began to perform better. However, at present, the team will have to work hard to find the right balance for the car in order to achieve better results.
Mercedes appears to be losing ground to McLaren in the constructor standings as well. This was evident as both McLaren drivers outperformed the Silver Arrows in Qualifying. Consequently, Hamilton will need to make a strong recovery in the race if he wants to keep up with the competition for the world championship.