Lewis Hamilton says his poor Qualifying performance at the Azerbaijan GP is because Ferrari opted to change the run plan on Friday, leaving the seven-time Formula 1 champion without a vital tow.
With approximately 75% of the Baku City Circuit being taken at full throttle a tow is a crucial element to securing a competitive lap by reducing the drag around the 6.003km lap.
Teams specifically design their run plans around securing a tow through either their teammate or another driver ahead – most notably down the long two-kilometre backstraight.
And with Azerbaijan not being known for its plentiful overtaking opportunities, the emphasis is further on Qualifying which carries a make-or-break effect across a weekend.
For example, Lando Norris qualified seventh and finished seventh in the constructors’ championship-winning McLaren car, unable to overtake the struggling Yuki Tsunoda and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
Drivers have to know the plans to coordinate their tyre strategies and time their tows to perfection but that need for clarity seems to have gone against Hamilton on September 25.
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The 106-time Grand Prix winner sixth on the grid for Ferrari and 1.332 seconds behind George Russell’s pole position time, whilst teammate Charles Leclerc placed just under half-a-second ahead.
And Hamilton says his poor result in Qualifying for the Azerbaijan GP is on Ferrari for changing their run plan heading into the final part of the session, which left the 41-year-old without a tow and exposed to his rivals.
“We’ve been struggling all weekend to get the tyres working,” Hamilton told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “Q1 was pretty okay and I felt like the car wasn’t too bad in the Q1.
“Then Q2 started struggling even more with the rear tyres, and I was behind at least some cars in those two sessions. After Q2, they decided to change the run plan and just do one run.
“Which hadn’t foreseen the fact that I would come out with no one ahead of me and just towing Charles the whole time. So, I was 25 seconds behind George so I just knew I had no one ahead.”
Hamilton added, of the benefit of the tow: “I had one in FP3, and it was [worth] six tenths. Didn’t have one in the session. Unfortunate.”
Hamilton not hopeful for Azerbaijan GP
Seemingly like a frustrated and downhearted figure as his chances of an eighth world title seem to have deserted him, Hamilton admits that Ferrari changing their run plan happens “all the time”.
The comment comes in the wake of his quest to drive the Scuderia to a championship-winning standard as he reportedly requested changes to personnel following the Italian GP, although this is unconfirmed.
Regardless of whatever the veteran driver may or may not be doing behind the scenes to try to find the performance that he needs; attention now shifts to Saturday as he aims to try to move forwards on September 26.
Lights out for the Azerbaijan GP is from 15:00 local time in Baku, where the Brit will look to try to catch the likes of Lando Norris and Isack Hadjar ahead of him in his bid to recover to the podium.
However, he is not hopeful of his prospects as he warns Ferrari may not even be the quickest car behind Mercedes, suspecting Red Bull’s Max Verstappen may have the pace to catch them.
“Second? I don’t know,” Hamilton continued. “Maybe we’re third fastest car. I think Max has been quicker all weekend, and I don’t know what happened to him in the session.
“So Charles did a really good job again, right at the end they gave him a really good tow all the way to the start line. So [it] will be hard to overtake any of the cars that have up ahead.”
