Lewis Hamilton qualified P7 in Canada, an ultimately disappointing result considering his pace so far this weekend. The 7-time Champion was expected to contend for Pole Position and was a front-runner at the start of Q3. However, he was unable to string a lap together on his final attempt. Hamilton attributed this to losing confidence in the car after FP3.
Heading into this weekend, Mercedes have been increasingly confident about their trajectory. Toto Wolff insisted in Monaco that significant progress was being made at Brackley – regardless of the results at the Principality.
Meanwhile, James Allison displayed a similar sense of assuredness when speaking to the media yesterday. The Mercedes technical director outlined the areas where he feels the W15 is improving.
Although one qualifying session is not enough to make definitive conclusions, George Russell take Pole Position in Canada is certainly encouraging.
For Hamilton, however, the discrepancy relative to his teammate in Q3 is an obvious source of frustration.
HAMILTON: THE GRIP DISAPPEARED IN QUALIFYING
Speaking to Sky Sports, he discussed his experience in the session:
“The car’s been feeling great all weekend. First of all, congratulations to George. He did a great job. It’s really great for the team, obviously. Everyone’s worked so hard to bring upgrades back at the factory.
“So this will be a huge boost for everybody back at the factory. The car was feeling great all weekend. But as soon as I got to qualifying, that kind of vanished.
“The grip just disappears for me. So FP3, I had plenty of pace in me. Then I get to qualifying, and the tyres don’t work.
“Nothing had changed on the car.”
It is somewhat habitual for Hamilton to report a loss in confidence after Free Practice. He made similar comments in Monaco, though on that occasion, he was more focused on not having the same upgrades as his teammate.
Regardless of today’s result, there is everything to play for tomorrow.
Whether the Sunday Grand Prix is in wet or dry conditions, there will be plenty of unknowns. With the likes of Ferrari starting out of position, Canada is set to provide more exciting action.
