JUST IN: Concentrating on enhancing the car’s speed and handling to better accommodate Hamilton’s aggressive cornering technique.
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has explained why Lewis Hamilton has been outperformed by his teammate George Russell in qualifying this season.
Historically a qualifying powerhouse with a record 104 pole positions in 344 races, Hamilton has only secured one pole since the start of the current ground-effect era in 2022. This marks his poorest qualifying performance against a teammate, with Russell currently leading 10-2 over 12 races.
Shovlin acknowledges Russell’s qualifying skills but points out specific difficulties Hamilton faces with the new car design. “Lewis has openly admitted that Saturdays have been challenging for him,” Shovlin said. “He has struggled with this generation of car, which doesn’t quite suit his driving style. He’s been adapting his approach to address this.”
The team has concentrated on enhancing the car’s speed and handling to better accommodate Hamilton’s aggressive cornering technique.
Shovlin commented, “We’ve invested a significant amount of effort into making the car faster and achieving a handling balance that allows the drivers to push hard during Saturday’s laps.”
Although Hamilton has faced challenges in qualifying, his race pace remains strong, which has been advantageous for Mercedes in accumulating points. Shovlin explained that Hamilton’s aggressive cornering style can lead to oversteer and increased tire temperatures, making it difficult for him to maintain control.
The team remains hopeful about Hamilton’s future prospects, with Shovlin adding, “It’s fantastic for the team to see Lewis back up there, and he will continue to push hard. We’ll keep working on these issues, and we’re optimistic that we’ll see more pole positions for Lewis in the future.”
