Hamilton "won't miss" W13 after qualifying "kick in the teeth"
Hamilton "won't miss" W13 after qualifying "kick in the teeth"
Lewis Hamilton has claimed he "won't miss" this year's Mercedes W13 after following an abysmal Belgian Grand Prix qualifying performance.
Mercedes has endured a torrid year by its lofty standards, with the team's record run of eight consecutive F1 constructors' titles almost certain to come to an end.
Struggles with porpoising hampered the early phase of the season and although recent results, including back-to-back double podiums in France and Hungary, have been encouraging, qualifying at Spa Francorchamps highlighted the W13's weaknesses.
After engine penalties are applied to Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon, Hamilton will be promoted to fourth on the grid, but this offered him little solace after he finished 1.8secs slower than Red Bull's reigning champion.
"We came here and we were very optimistic that we would be able to be close - half a second," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "To be 1.8 seconds behind is a real kick in the teeth but it is what it is.
"It's a car that we continue to struggle with and I definitely won't miss it at the end of the year.
"For me, it's just about focusing on how we design and build next year's car. The two teams ahead of us are in a different league and our car looks so much different to theirs so we've got a lot of work to do.
"We'll do the best we can for the rest of the season."
Mercedes 'dragging a parachute'
It had been expected that an FIA technical directive introduced this weekend would pull Mercedes closer to Red Bull and Ferrari but if anything, the gap has increased.
This is, in part, due to the cooler temperatures of the Ardennes forest hindering Mercedes' tyre warm-up, a problem that has consistently hurt the team this year.
"Even just on the straight, I keep looking in the mirror and it feels like you've got a parachute behind you, so we're probably a bit too draggy," Hamilton added.
"And just the aero performance. As soon as you hit the brakes, the aero balance shifts and it's very, very unstable so you can't commit to the corners.
"And when you finally get to the corners, the rear is sliding so it's very hard to work around that and detune the front."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1's quirkiest star begins selling ICE CREAM in latest venture
- 2 minutes ago
F1 colleagues UNFOLLOW each other as internal drama cranks up
- 1 hour ago
Hamilton 'emotional burden' heading into 2024 season revealed
- 1 hour ago
Marko DIRECTLY addresses Verstappen quit rumours
- 2 hours ago
Vettel CONFIRMS F1 comeback and reveals what's holding it up
- 3 hours ago
- 1
Hamilton flooded with applications as F1 celebrity pal founds new team
- Today 18:57
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
- GP JAPAN 5 - 7 Apr
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
Related news
Legendary F1 circuit could be ditched due to spiralling costs
F1 confirms renewal of KEY race contract until 2025
Brundle names the ONE F1 driver operating well above expectations
F1 legend slams UNFAIR FIA proposal after 'deceiving fans'
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860