Lewis Hamilton sacrificed his position in qualifying in order to focus on his race pace at the Bahrain GP. The seven-time world champion had a disappointing qualifying experience on the evening of March 1st. Unlike his teammate, who finished third, Hamilton could only secure ninth place on the grid.
Hamilton explained that he made changes to the setup of his Mercedes F1 car, which ultimately affected his qualifying performance. He was not satisfied with his race pace and hoped that the adjustments would improve it. When asked about the issues with his car bottoming out, Hamilton attributed it to a challenging qualifying session. Despite his disappointment, he remains confident in Mercedes’ chances and believes their updated W15 is a significant improvement.
The news of Hamilton potentially moving to Ferrari in 2025 has motivated the Mercedes team principal to ensure his success while still with the team. George Russell, Hamilton’s teammate, revealed that the new W15 was designed with Hamilton’s needs in mind. However, there is a twist to the story. While the team wants Hamilton to win another championship, Toto Wolff, the team principal, jokingly expressed his desire for Hamilton to regret leaving the team. He acknowledged that Hamilton deserves the win, but also highlighted the advantage Mercedes has provided him with the fastest car.
Although Wolff’s comments were made in jest, they reflect his lingering bitterness about Hamilton’s potential move. Internally, he may secretly hope that Hamilton regrets his decision if he wins the eighth world championship with Mercedes but fails to achieve the same success with Ferrari.