F1 | Miami GP | Lewis Hamilton after qualifying: "We've not really taken a step forward or anything"
Lewis Hamilton commented on Mercedes' weekend so far, referring to the fact that they seemed faster in FP1 and FP3, but quite far back in FP3 and qualifying. Then he opened up on the new rules of the FIA.
After facing a very difficult weekend, perhaps one of the worst in recent years for a 7-time world champion like Lewis Hamilton, the Englishman can say to be partly satisfied with the qualifying session at the new Miami circuit.
Although Mercedes is facing obvious problems, struggling to find a proper solution to porpoising over everything, Hamilton can be quite satisfied with the sixth place he earned.
It's P6 for LH in Miami. 🌴👊 And a solid starting position for what could be a crazy first #MiamiGP!
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 7, 2022
George will line up P12 after a trickier Saturday, but we've seen him have some strong Sundays already this season. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/GL9mxIFCuv
Mercedes looked pretty fast in Friday's free practice, a performance that didn't also affect the FP3s before qualifying, which saw the silver arrows quite behind what was shown the previous day.
"It was a bit confusing with yesterday's pace," Hamilton commented after qualifying.
"We don't know why we were looking faster than we really were. And then today was a bit of a surprise to see us, in FP3 we were quite far back. It was a bit nerve-wracking going into qualifiers.
"I mean, we've not really taken a step forward or anything. We've just got to keep working," he said.
Then the English driver added: “I’ve only just qualified so I’m not looking at damage limitation; I’m looking at trying to do the best I can in the race. I’m generally really happy with the job that I did today. I did the best I could with the car I had.”
In recent days there has been a tightening of the rules that involve the clothing of drivers, from underwear, to piercings and jewelry. Everything that drivers wear must comply with the strict and new safety requirements demanded by the FIA.
New guidelines, dictated by the new race director Niels Wittich, involve the health of the drivers in the event of serious accidents. For this reason, under the fireproof suits, it will no longer be possible to wear or have objects that could somehow put the drivers' lives at even more risk, or slow down their medical aid.
In this regard Lewis Hamilton commented:
"When they told me about the jewellery, they said safety is everything. And I said, 'Well, what's happened over the last 16 years? I've had jewellery for over 16 years, so was safety not an issue back then?"
“But I mean, when it comes to these new tracks they do the best job, I think they’ve done a great job in all these new tracks with safety.
"You can’t predict every single corner where we're going to need Tecpro, but safety on track is great, so I think of course after an experiece like this weekend we can learn that's an area to improve on. That's a part of the lessons we learn," he concluded.
