The previous Hamilton slow start that Mercedes can learn from in F1 2022

Lewis Hamilton took a surprise podium in the Bahrain F1 season opener, but his struggles in Jeddah underlined that much work still needs to be done for Mercedes to be contending for wins again. The team will hope that Hamilton's upturn in form after a sluggish start to a season featuring a new rules set, in 2009, can be replicated

Jake Boxall-Legge Mar 29, 2022, 8:29 AM

Upd: Mar 29, 2022, 1:04 PM

For the first time since the 2009 British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in the first part of Formula 1 qualifying on pure pace, having been pipped to safety by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. In that, it was a bigger slap in the face for Hamilton and Mercedes than the one Chris Rock received from Will Smith during Sunday night’s Oscars.

Hamilton looked all at sea in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Differences in set-up between his and George Russell’s cars contrived to carry the latter into Q3, as Hamilton struggled to find enough grip over a single lap and was left uncharacteristically uncompetitive in the process.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake studied engineering at university, as his original ambition was to design racing cars. He was bad at that, and thus decided to write about them instead with an equally limited skillset. The above article is a demonstration of that. In his spare time, Jake enjoys people, places, and things.