Troubling qualifying for Hamilton and Mercedes despite upgrades

18th May 2024

Former world champion to start in 8th at Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Sir Lewis Hamilton had what appeared to be a miserable qualifying session. At every stage of qualifying, he narrowly avoided elimination, writes Damian Hall.

During Qualifying 1 (Q1), where the five slowest drivers of the 20 are eliminated, Hamilton set a time that was only good enough for 15th. In the following session, when only 10 drivers advance to the final round of qualifying, he again barely escaped elimination by placing himself in 9th.

This all happened during a weekend where Mercedes introduced their second set of upgrades since Miami. With other teams bringing upgrades of their own, it would appear Mercedes’ upgrades were rendered moot in terms of advantage on track.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen put his car on pole with a blistering time of 1:14.746, marking his 8th consecutive pole and equaling a historic record set by the late Ayrton Senna. He will start the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who set a time just 0.091 seconds slower, followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Norris’s teammate, Oscar Piastri, originally held second place with a time only 0.074 seconds slower than Verstappen, but he will start in 5th after receiving a grid penalty for impeding Haas’s Kevin Magnussen during Q1.

Hamilton and teammate George Russell only managed to qualify 8th and 6th, respectively. They were separated by a surprisingly strong performance by Visa Cashapp RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, who starts the race tomorrow in 7th.

The stage is set for a nail-biting Grand Prix tomorrow (May 19th), with both McLarens showing similar pace to the Red Bull of Verstappen, and both Ferraris in striking distance. This Grand Prix will be the first in a while where fans will see three car manufacturers, close in pace, fighting for the win.

Verstappen will fight alone against the harmonious duo of Piastri and Norris. It will be interesting to see if the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz can work together or against each other, especially with the backdrop of Sainz’s departure to make way for Sir Lewis Hamilton next year.

Fans should be in for a treat.

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