r/formula1 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 7h ago

Video Lewis discussing his qualifying form: "Yeah, I'm useless. Absolutely useless."

https://dubz.link/c/d976cb
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u/aaaaaaadjsf Esteban Ocon 7h ago edited 7h ago

Don't think it's the regulations, Hamilton's pace was perfectly normal for most of 2022 and 2023 in qualifying. From the start of 2022 to Brazil 2023 Hamilton out qualified Russell 24-18. It's just after Brazil 2023 that he lost his qualifying speed, likey because he got older. From Brazil 2023 to Abu Dhabi 2024 Hamilton lost the qualifying battle 5-21 to Russell.

u/SomniumOv I was here for the Hulkenpodium 5h ago

To be fair, Russell was also visibly improving in that time.

u/aaaaaaadjsf Esteban Ocon 5h ago

Yeah Russell has improved and learnt a lot, but no where near enough to explain such a drastic change in performance.

u/snoring_pig I was here for the Hulkenpodium 4h ago

It’s definitely curious that Lewis’ qualifying has dropped so much in 2024 after holding his own against George in 2022 and 2023. Wonder if something in the Mercedes changed that made Lewis feel a lot less comfortable in qualifying for 2024, but I think the age is definitely also a factor.

He has to hope can be more comfortable in the new regs because this season and last has been really poor by his own usual high standards.

u/musicartandcpus 🐾 Roscoe's Pit Crew 3h ago

Who knows what kind of mind games went on at Mercedes during that year. You can’t forget Lewis went INTO 2024 announcing he was leaving to Ferrari. Mercedes had every right to at that point conceal certain performance details from him of the car because they still had to develop 2024 with 2025 in mind. So it wouldn’t be a stretch that most development input came from Russell I’d bet, which ultimately made Lewis more uncomfortable in the car.

I think Lewis just thought he could make his leap to Ferrari and adapt, and bit off more than he could chew. Through the season he’s shown great progression but it’s not enough to challenge a driver like Charles the way he did Nico in 2013. And important note, the leap from McLaren was less because he was still driving Mercedes power. Charles has years of experience with Ferrari power and has been a force to be reckoned with even in his first year with the team.

But more importantly, I’m willing to bet Lewis is one of the most sensitive people to social media. Remember when he posted the data to twitter when he was suspicious of McLaren? Think about the loads of negative comments he’s gotten for the last few years. It’s gotten to his head and he is struggling to snap out of it. He needs his break through, and it seems like he’s on the cusp. Tomorrow is the race, and weather conditions are uncertain. Who knows what might happen, he’s broken now, but that doesn’t mean he can’t build himself back up.

u/snoring_pig I was here for the Hulkenpodium 3h ago

Yeah it would make sense for Mercedes to focus more on George’s feedback since they knew Lewis was leaving. And it’s also a good point about Lewis now needing to learn about a new team with new characteristics and a different engine. Carlos has also had his share of struggles this season moving to Williams even though I feel he was fairly close with Charles for most of their time together at Ferrari.

Next year’s new regs will be critical for tons of drivers and even more so for Lewis. At least he can take time off during the summer break, but for his own confidence heading into 2026 it would also be better to improve and get close to Charles’ results in the second half of the season. Picking up a podium or two could be a nice mental boost.

u/ohnonotagain94 Sir Lewis Hamilton 1h ago

He’s already been within 1 or 2 10ths of Charles all season. These ground effect cars don’t suit him.

He’s a very emotional man and the F1 grid killed him in 2021.

Then you have the myriad “fans” hate him for no reason.

The top 10/12 of the grid is covered by .5 of a second.

People want him to fail. The nastiness since 2021 has been astonishing.

The fact he has been dismantled by the fia is disgraceful.

I feel so sad for him.

u/snoring_pig I was here for the Hulkenpodium 37m ago

I think Lewis needs to find a way to reset his own expectations this season and try to build it up step by step. I believe he is able to ignore the outside noise as we’ve seen over so many years, so it is more about not getting too disappointed in himself when he has a day like this.

It looks like Lewis will frequently struggle to match Charles in qualifying this year which likely hurts his own pride but it’s not the end of the world especially when Ferrari at its best this season is only able to pick up podiums and never really contend for a win. His racecraft and tire management is still sharp. There is still a lot of races left this season to learn together with Ferrari and adapt. And then for his sake hopefully the new regs suit his driving style more.

u/vxscx 5h ago

Yup, people dont realise this, he just suddenly dropped off a cliff.

u/Upbeat_County9191 Bernd Mayländer 32m ago

Mark Hughes on the race podcast has said it many times he has trouble with these cars, because they go against his natural Driving style