Lewis Hamilton did not look confident with his car during the practice sessions before the Saudi Arabian GP 2024. The seven-time world champion was heard complaining about the rear of the car and struggling with power.
Heading to the Saudi Arabian GP, the Briton driver, who recorded the best lap time of 1:27:511 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit back in 2021, was looking for a better performance with his car. Still, he was disappointed during the practice session.
Hamilton struggled in both practice sessions, finishing 8th in both FP1 and FP2, which were quite disappointing results for a driver aiming for his 8th championship.
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In contrast, his teammate George Russell recorded some good laps in both FP1 and FP2.
Russell finished fourth in FP1, only behind the reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, Alonso, and Perez. Similarly, in FP2, he finished second by two-tenths of a second behind Alonso, who clocked 1:28:827.
Lewis Hamilton continuously complained about his car, struggling with understeer, an unstable rear, and losing power.
Additionally, his slow-moving Mercedes was under investigation after a serious incident in which the Williams driver almost crashed trying to avoid the No. 44 Mercedes.
Upon investigation, FIA handed Hamilton and Mercedes a fine of €15,000 as the team failed to report the arriving Sargeant on a push lap.
Speaking to the media after the practice session, Hamilton shared his struggles with the new W15,
“Yeah, a typical day, just lacking the confidence in the rear of the car. [With] the set-up we did some work session to session, changed quite a bit, but [there was still the] underlying issue with the rear end that I was struggling with, so I had a couple of really big moments out there. In these high-speed areas you need to have full faith in the rear of the car and I don’t have that yet.”
He also expressed his desire to have a stable rear before the qualifying race,
“I don’t know, we need to go through the data but George is obviously a lot happier with his car. We went in different directions today, trying different things to find the right solution for the car, but yeah, all I want is a stable rear and then I’ll be happy, so that’s what we are working on.”
However, his teammate, a fellow British driver, Russell, had a positive session. Nonetheless, Russell was also heard on the radio expressing multiple complaints about his FP2 session.
Talking to the media in the post-practice interview, Russell said,
“It was fun to be back in Jeddah, such a high-speed circuit, that’s enjoyable,” he commented. “Little bit of a scrappy session, I don’t think we had the car in the perfect window, I think the lap times looked good and in the low-fuel high-fuel pace.
“I don’t know where we are at really but it’s so close again. The Aston [Martins] have been a bit of a surprise, great to see them up there and we have work to do overnight to see what we can achieve tomorrow.”
The 2024 F1 season will undoubtedly have different results, as the Red Bulls do not appear as dominant as they were in the previous season.
This season started with some big news and big updates, some even leading to controversies. One of the news was Hamilton signing with the Italian team, Scuderia Ferrari, for the 2025 season, 10 days prior to Mercedes’s official car launch for the season.
With this news, Mercedes was forced to find a suitable racer, and Carlos Sainz, who had a contract with Ferrari until the end of 2024, had to look for a new team and, most importantly, get the most out of this season. Sainz finished third in the Bahrain GP, collecting 15 points for him and the team.
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On February 14, 2024, Mercedes launched it’s car W15, which introduced a groundbreaking front wing design. Some believed this design violated the FIA regulations.
Amidst the debate regarding the legalities of the new design, Mercedes received a green flag from the FIA.
The W15 design was within the regulatory standards. Mercedes used a loophole in the 2022 aerodynamic rules, which was a strategic innovation to stay competitive.
Still, in the initial phase, the Silver Arrows do not fully know the strength of their new design and how effectively this upgrade will contribute to their aerodynamic aspect.
As the season progresses, we shall witness the advantages of the new front wing in the W14 successor.
