Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton rued a poor run in qualifying for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, claiming “if I’d done my job yesterday, it would have been a breeze today”.
Hamilton and Mercedes were strong from the outset at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit with the seven-time champion topping the first two practice sessions.
The Briton looked to carry that form into qualifying but multiple mistakes int he Q3 top-10 shootout resigned him to 10th on the grid.
After fighting through to finish second behind Mercedes’ team-mate George Russell, Hamilton was critical of his qualifying effort.
“If I’d done my job yesterday, it would have been a breeze today,” he said in parc ferme.
“But it’s OK, I had fun coming from the back, coming from 10th and the team did a fantastic job.”
Mercedes was the team to beat throughout the Las Vegas GP and Hamilton added “We don’t know why we were so quick this weekend but that’s the nice.
“That’s the best the car has ever felt, so I’m grateful to have been a part of getting it to that point.
“We got a really good balance in the car today. It felt a lot better than it was yesterday, particularly Q3 yesterday, but yeah, just phenomenal for the team.”
Hamilton gives Russell his flowers after Vegas victory
Hamilton’s incredible pace made going from 10th to second in the Las Vegas GP a relative ease.
The pace he was able to conjure from his Mercedes must surely have raised questions from within that he could have challenged Russell for victory with a better qualifying performance.
Hamilton, however, didn’t see things that way and instead elected to shine a light on Russell’s fault-free exploits.
“[Qualifying] doesn’t really matter, really, does it,” he pondered.
“At the end of the day, George did a great job, did everything he was supposed to do and I’m happy for him and I’m just grateful I could get back up there to support the team with a 1-2.
“I had a great time,” he added.
“When you’re progressing and moving forward, it’s always a great feeling.
“It felt very much like my old days at Rye House, starting at the back and coming through, so it was great.”
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes F1 car ‘felt different’ amid Las Vegas Q3 mistakes
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