June 28th 2024.
Sir Lewis Hamilton took responsibility for his sixth-place qualifying result in the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint race, admitting that he drove some "very bad laps." Despite a strong performance last weekend in Spain where he secured his first podium of the season, Hamilton was disappointed to find himself off the pace during Friday's practice at the Red Bull Ring.
Although he managed to make it into Q2 after a difficult Q1, the Mercedes driver could only secure the sixth-fastest time, half a second slower than polesitter Max Verstappen. With Lando Norris, Oscar Pistari, George Russell, and Carlos Sainz ahead of him, Hamilton was clearly not satisfied with his performance.
In a post-qualifying interview, Hamilton expressed his disappointment, stating, "I wasn't in the mix at all. The whole session was pretty disastrous from our point of view." He acknowledged that the car felt good during practice but attributed his poor performance to "very bad laps." Recognizing the difficulty of overtaking on this track, Hamilton promised to do his best in the upcoming Sprint race.
However, the seven-time champion also pointed out that this was only qualifying for the shorter Sprint race, which will be followed by qualifying for the main grand prix on Sunday. As Verstappen continues to dominate with a 69-point lead in the championship, Hamilton knows that his team will need to improve their performance if they want to challenge Red Bull at their home race.
Meanwhile, Verstappen was thrilled to secure pole position in front of his home fans, stating, "It's great to be first here in front of, basically, my home fans and my home Grand Prix." The Red Bull driver had a strong day, with a well-balanced car and successful adjustments for the Sprint race.
Despite the positive start to the weekend, Verstappen knows that there is still work to be done. He said, "It's a good start, but there are still a lot of things to do." His father Jos may have caused some drama by reigniting his feud with Red Bull boss Christian Horner, but Verstappen remains focused on his performance on the track. With his sights set on extending his lead in the championship, he is determined to have a successful race weekend.
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