Lewis Hamilton puzzled as upgraded Mercedes ‘should be quicker’

Lewis Hamilton was left puzzled as to why Mercedes’ upgraded F1 car was not quicker after being outqualifed by teammate George Russell at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Mercedes have split packages this weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Hamilton using the latest upgraded version of the W15, while Russell has an older-specification.

Hamilton suffered his latest qualifying defeat to Russell as Mercedes locked out the third row of the grid in fifth and sixth, with the seven-time world champion ending up three tenths adrift of his teammate and seven tenths off the pace.

“P3 felt decent, it felt like we were on the right track,” Hamilton explained. “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 had a sideways moment on his final lap of Q3, underlining how tricky the W15 is to drive.

Mercedes have suffered a spate of recent crashes, with Russell making it four accidents in four consecutive days of track action when he shunted in Friday practice.

That came after he crashed in qualifying at the United States Grand Prix, a day before Hamilton spun out on the second lap of the race in Austin.

Asked if he had any answers for why Mercedes’ car continues to catch both drivers out, Hamilton replied: “Not really. We have three-wheeling and the ride height is moving 15mm up and down and when it does that, it shits the bed basically.”

Following his DNF last time out at COTA, Hamilton has relatively low expectations heading into Sunday’s grand prix.

“We’ll get lots of data tomorrow, I don’t think we can compete with the guys ahead,” he said. “They are just too far ahead.

“So just see how it goes. I just want to get to the end of the race this time, at least.”