Motorsport Week
  • Formula 1
    • 2023 Formula 1 Calendar
    • 2023 Formula 1 Standings
    • 2023 Formula 1 Driver Line-Up
    • 2023 Formula 1 Driver Penalty Points
    • 2024 Formula 1 Driver Line-Up
  • Formula E
    • 2022/23 Formula E Standings
    • 2022/23 Formula E Calendar
    • 2022/23 Formula E Team/Driver Line-up
  • IndyCar
    • 2023 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2023 IndyCar Driver Line-Up
    • 2023 IndyCar Standings
  • WRC
    • 2023 WRC Calendar
    • 2023 WRC Standings
    • 2023 WRC Driver Line-up
  • MotoGP
    • 2023 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2023 MotoGP Team/Rider Line-Up
    • 2023 MotoGP Standings
  • WEC
    • 2023 WEC Calendar
    • 2023 WEC Hypercar Team/Driver Line-up
  • IMSA
    • 2023 IMSA GTP Team/Driver Line-up
    • 2023 IMSA Calendar
  • More
    • Formula 2
      • 2023 Formula 2 Race Calendar
      • 2023 Formula 2 Driver Line-up
    • Formula 3
      • 2023 Formula 3 Race Calendar
      • 2023 Formula 3 Driver Line-up
    • DTM
    • WSeries
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • Formula 1
    • 2023 Formula 1 Calendar
    • 2023 Formula 1 Standings
    • 2023 Formula 1 Driver Line-Up
    • 2023 Formula 1 Driver Penalty Points
    • 2024 Formula 1 Driver Line-Up
  • Formula E
    • 2022/23 Formula E Standings
    • 2022/23 Formula E Calendar
    • 2022/23 Formula E Team/Driver Line-up
  • IndyCar
    • 2023 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2023 IndyCar Driver Line-Up
    • 2023 IndyCar Standings
  • WRC
    • 2023 WRC Calendar
    • 2023 WRC Standings
    • 2023 WRC Driver Line-up
  • MotoGP
    • 2023 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2023 MotoGP Team/Rider Line-Up
    • 2023 MotoGP Standings
  • WEC
    • 2023 WEC Calendar
    • 2023 WEC Hypercar Team/Driver Line-up
  • IMSA
    • 2023 IMSA GTP Team/Driver Line-up
    • 2023 IMSA Calendar
  • More
    • Formula 2
      • 2023 Formula 2 Race Calendar
      • 2023 Formula 2 Driver Line-up
    • Formula 3
      • 2023 Formula 3 Race Calendar
      • 2023 Formula 3 Driver Line-up
    • DTM
    • WSeries
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Motorsport Week
Home Single Seater Formula 1

Hamilton: Friday form will make Spain Q3 appearance a ‘struggle’

by Taylor Powling
4 months ago
A A
0
Hamilton: Friday form will make Spain Q3 appearance a ‘struggle’

Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14. 02.06.2023 Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 8, Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona, Spain, Practice Day.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Lewis Hamilton says it will be a “struggle” for him to reach Q3 during tomorrow’s qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix after he endured a difficult Friday.

The seven-time World Champion ended FP1 in a lowly 12th spot and was only able to improve on that placing by one position come the close of the second hour.

Having failed to reside inside the top 10 throughout the opening day of running in Barcelona, Hamilton believes he faces a tough battle to reach the final stage of qualifying on Saturday.

However, the Brit is hopeful that he can make the correct changes overnight to unlock the added performance he’ll need to progress through what he anticipates to be a “very close” qualifying hour.

RelatedPosts

Aston Martin reports £53m loss for 2022 F1 season

Aston Martin reports £53m loss for 2022 F1 season

13 hours ago
Feature: Concept to track in 8 months – designing an F1 garage

Feature: Concept to track in 8 months – designing an F1 garage

14 hours ago

“I think from the pace that I had today it’s a struggle for me currently to get into the top ten, but hopefully we’ll do some changes overnight,” he said.

“I think it’s very, very close between us and that middle bit, after P5 back to kind of P10. It’s really close between us all.

“It’s impressive to see the improvements that everyone seems to have made all around us. You look at Ocon, the Alpines are doing great, you saw the Aston Martin was second just right behind the Red Bull which is really, really impressive. So it’s not going to be easy that’s for sure.”

Following the debut of its highly anticipated revised package at the last round in Monaco, Hamilton expressed excitement on Thursday over the prospect of getting to test the updated W14 on a more conventional circuit.

But following a tough outing on the track today, the six-time Spanish GP race winner asserts that Mercedes’ main focus ahead of the weekend will be analysing how it can improve its pace over a single lap.

“It’s so different from last week obviously of course,” he added. “But we’re just focusing – I think the long run pace didn’t look terrible, and we’ve just got to work on trying to figure out how we can extract more over a single lap.”

Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14. 02.06.2023 Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 8, Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona, Spain, Practice Day

Meanwhile, George Russell, who wound up eighth in the sister Mercedes in the latter session, shared his team-mate’s view that qualifying will be decided by fine margins.

Less than a second covered Max Verstappen at the top of the timesheets from Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri in 17th place in FP2.

With Mercedes typically showcasing a tendency to possess stronger race day performance over outright one-lap speed, the Brit reckons the German outfit could have a fight on its hands tomorrow up against a series of quick rivals in qualifying trim.  

When asked where Mercedes will stack up in the fight for pole, Russell answered: “Well, I don’t think there is a fight for pole with anyone on this grid. So that’s the way things are at the moment.

“It’s going to be tight. There are a few cars that are definitely fast on a Saturday, I think Alpines are looking really strong, so I think between us Ferrari and Alpine, it’s probably going to be tight.

“Nico [Hulkenberg] was really quick today, and I don’t know where that came from. But we saw that in Miami, I think, Kevin [Magnussen] was really quick and qualified ahead of us, but things changed on Sunday.

“I don’t expect us to be having an incredible day tomorrow, but I certainly expect us to have a better Sunday than Saturday. So that’s what we are gearing up for.”

Tags: F1HamiltonMercedesSpanishGP
Share249Tweet156

Related Posts

Aston Martin reports £53m loss for 2022 F1 season
Formula 1

Aston Martin reports £53m loss for 2022 F1 season

13 hours ago
Feature: Concept to track in 8 months – designing an F1 garage
Feature

Feature: Concept to track in 8 months – designing an F1 garage

14 hours ago
AlphaTauri explain why Tsunoda was handed new 2024 F1 deal
Formula 1

AlphaTauri explain why Tsunoda was handed new 2024 F1 deal

15 hours ago
Load More

Upcoming Races

#EventLocationDate
14Dutch GPZandvoort27 August
15Italian GPMonza03 September
16Singapore GPMarina Bay17 September
17Japanese GPSuzuka24 September
18Qatar GPLusail08 October

Click here for the full 2023 F1 calendar

Drivers’  Standings

#DriverPts
Max Verstappen400
Sergio Perez223
Lewis Hamilton190
Fernando Alonso174
Carlos Sainz150
Charles Leclerc135
Lando Norris115
George Russell115
Oscar Piastri57
Lance Stroll47

Click here for full Drivers’ Standings

Latest Articles

Aston Martin reports £53m loss for 2022 F1 season
Formula 1

Aston Martin reports £53m loss for 2022 F1 season

September 30, 2023
Feature: Concept to track in 8 months – designing an F1 garage
Feature

Feature: Concept to track in 8 months – designing an F1 garage

September 30, 2023
AlphaTauri explain why Tsunoda was handed new 2024 F1 deal
Formula 1

AlphaTauri explain why Tsunoda was handed new 2024 F1 deal

September 30, 2023

Follow Motorsport Week

Motorsport Week

© 2023 Motorsport Media Services Ltd

Other Links

  • About & Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Motorsport Monday

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • Formula 1
    • Latest News
    • Championship Standings
    • 2023 F1 Calendar
    • Team/Driver Line-Up
    • Session Results
    • Driver Penalty Points
  • Formula E
    • Latest News
    • 2022/23 Formula E Standings
    • 2022/23 Formula E Calendar
    • Session Results
  • MotoGP
    • Latest News
    • Standings
    • Calendar
  • WRC
    • Latest News
    • Standings
    • Calendar
  • IndyCar
    • Latest News
    • Calendar
    • Standings
  • WEC
    • Latest News
    • Calendar
  • Live Updates
  • Other
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • WSeries
    • DTM
    • IMSA
  • Galleries
  • About/Contact
  • Privacy Policy

© 2023 Motorsport Media Services Ltd

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
X