Lewis Hamilton has revealed he went in a distinct path with set-up in comparison with Mercedes team-mate George Russell in a bid to be stronger within the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday.
Hamilton will begin ninth for the season-opening race, which begins at 3pm on Sky Sports activities F1 and NOW, after a disappointing qualifying.
However Russell certified in third and was simply 0.078s away from a front-row spot as Max Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc to pole place.
“It was not great. But I was genuinely really excited to be here,” Hamilton advised Sky Sports activities F1.
“I believe George’s place and tempo actually highlights, and is an actual testomony to the workforce, how exhausting everybody has labored over the winter. It is superb to have a automobile we will combat with.
“It really unites the fire and flame within us drivers. For me, Bono [Peter Bonington] and everyone did a great job, and I struggled in qualifying.”
Mercedes had an encouraging one-two in second follow and got here into the week with extra confidence in comparison with 12 months in the past with a redesigned automobile.
Hamilton, who will depart Mercedes to hitch Ferrari on the finish of this yr, has the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri straight in entrance of him, plus Fernando Alonso.
“Thursday, was really good. Me and George were on the same set-ups but he went ‘left’ and I went ‘right’. ‘Right’ was definitely not good for a single lap but I felt more comfortable with more fuel, so I hope that reflects in the race,” he continued
“I’ve definitely sacrificed more than I hoped to and I hope it pays off. It’s a lot of work to do to get past all those quick cars ahead of me but it will be fun.”
Russell: The combat is with 9 drivers
Mercedes did not win a race for the primary time in 12 years in 2023 and Hamilton has not received for the reason that finish of 2021.
Russell was 59 factors down on Hamilton and solely took two podiums final season however was glad to be so near the entrance on Friday.
“After testing we would have 100 per cent taken this P3, the team have done an amazing job since testing. So many hours on the sim, going over the data, making small improvements, and we saw how tight it is between five teams, bar Max,” stated Russell.
“We know Red Bull are a step ahead of everybody and that’s exciting knowing that if you put the lap together and find the extra tenth, that’s a number of positions and fortunately today we were just on the right side of it.”
Mercedes say they’re nonetheless studying about their new automobile however are in a greater place to problem Pink Bull this season.
Their follow future tempo suggests there can be an enormous combat behind Verstappen, who Russell thinks can be troublesome to beat.
Requested if a Verstappen retirement was the one sensible manner Mercedes may win, Russell added: “I think that’s the only option, he’s got such a stable platform.
“He is the most effective ever and we all know how troublesome it’s to complete forward of them, so realistically the combat is for second. What’s nice is the combat might be with 9 drivers, if solely that was on target for victory, we most likely would have seen one of the best season on F1 ever, so let’s simply faux he isn’t right here and P2 is the one that’s the vital one.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Bahrain GP schedule
Saturday March 2
- 8.55am: F3 Characteristic Race
- 10.25am: F2 Characteristic Race
- 1.30pm: Bahrain GP build-up: Grand Prix Saturday
- 3pm: THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
- 5pm: Bahrain GP response: Chequered Flag
- 6pm: Ted’s Pocket book
- 6.30pm: Bahrain GP highlights
Watch each spherical of the brand new season, beginning with the Bahrain Grand Prix this week, with the opening race on Saturday at 3pm. Stream each F1 race and extra with a NOW Sports activities Month Membership
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