Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes’ upgrades have made its Formula 1 car slower as he qualified behind his team-mate on the old-spec at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Mercedes endured another disappointing outing in qualifying as neither driver was able to challenge its main rivals as George Russell was fifth, with Hamilton in sixth.
Hamilton ended up almost three-tenths behind Russell in Q3 despite being the sole Mercedes driver to have the updates that the team introduced in the United States.
The seven-time F1 champion opted to retain the new parts on his car even though he suspected the revised components contributed to his race-ending spin in Austin.
But while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insisted there was no glaring issue with the developments, Hamilton is convinced the changes haven’t delivered an improvement.
“P3 felt decent. It felt like we were on the right track,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week in Mexico. “I decided not to make any changes.
“All we did was put the wing on and I was like ‘okay, let’s leave it there’.
“There was not a lot we could do in set-up changes to progress the car forwards. The performance is where it is.
“Then we got into qualifying and I had no rear. It was like it flipped on its head. It’s a very strange thing with the car.
“It will be interesting to get a reading because I’m obviously on the upgraded car, which should be quicker. But I don’t think it is.”
Hamilton has revealed that overnight set-up tweaks provided a step in the right direction until the move to a more loaded rear wing on the W15 unravelled its progress.
“We definitely took a good step in FP3 I thought, at least in balance,” he explained. “But the actual car we were still six-tenths off the cars ahead.
“We put the bigger wing on to try and get more downforce and just went slower.”
Hamilton puzzled by Mercedes car snaps
Meanwhile, Hamilton reiterated that he was still encountering the “three-wheeling” sensation this weekend that he experienced during his spins the previous weekend.
Asked whether he had an inclination on why the car snaps, Hamilton replied: “Not really.
“We have three-wheeling and the ride height is moving 15mm up and down and when it does that, it s***s the bed, basically.”
Hamilton anticipates tough race
Hamilton anticipates that Mercedes will have an impossible task attempting to maintain pace with the Ferraris and the leading McLaren and Red Bull cars in the race.
Pressed on whether having the two cars on alternative specs will provide a good comparison, the Briton added: “We’ll get lots of data tomorrow.
“I don’t think we can compete with the guys ahead. They are just too far.”
“So just see how it goes. I just want to get to the end of the race this time, at least.”
READ MORE – Mercedes denies ‘fundamental issue’ with F1 upgrades amid Lewis Hamilton concern
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