Lewis Hamilton struggled in training on Friday in Baku as Mercedes was once again far from the pace set by Red Bull and Ferrari; watch the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan live on Ski Sports all weekend, and the race on Sunday starts at 12 o’clock
Last updated: 10/06/22 22:36
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Luis Hamilton’s Mercedes car had even more serious problems during training on Friday in Azerbaijan
Luis Hamilton’s Mercedes car had even more serious problems during training on Friday in Azerbaijan
Mercedes is facing “big decisions” and must find its way after a disappointing display at the training session of the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan, says former world champion Damon Hill.
Luis Hamilton endured a difficult first day on the track in Baku, facing a significant jump and leading a tuning experiment in Exercise Two that failed.
After finishing more than a second less than the time to lead Sergio Perez in the P1, Hamilton was even faster than the pace in the second session, finishing 1.6 seconds behind Charles Leclerc on the 12th, while teammate George Russell was only 0.3 seconds better in seventh place.
Hamilton, who failed to secure the podium since the first race of the season, is already 75 points behind world championship leader Max Verstappen.
“I will pass. It hurts a little,” said the seven-time world champion. “Here we achieve serious speeds in the end and it jumps a lot.
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See how Hamilton’s car bounced along the track during the introductory training
“I just can’t tell you where (we lose) 1.6 seconds, 1.3 seconds or whatever, that’s far.
After a very disappointing start to the season under completely new F1 design regulations, Mercedes looked like it had turned a corner in an improved display in Barcelona last month, but then retreated to Monaco a week later.
The recent fights of the Silver Arrows have led Hill to express their concern about the direction of the team by the end of the season, while their hopes for the ninth consecutive constructors’ title already looked extremely bleak.
“They seem to be trying everything they can think of, if you listen to Lewis say he tried again with another experimental setup, without much success,” Hill said. Ski Sports F1.
Hamilton struggled in Baku on Friday
“This is where you start going, essentially, have we made a mistake with our concept?” Then, it’s a little more of a headache because you can’t do it with just an upgrade, it’s hard to do with an upgrade.
“They said they felt they had a direction in Spain, but it was lost again.
“I think they need to ask themselves some big questions and make big decisions.
Schiff: Really frustrating for Mercedes
Ski Sports F1Naomi Schiff explained that Hamilton’s jump, which he experienced on Friday, will make it difficult for him to perform at a high level.
“It’s uncomfortable,” Schiff said. “Fortunately, I didn’t really have to deal with it, but obviously all the comments say that the drivers are suffering, and you saw from Luis, his back hurts.
“It’s not great for visibility either. It’s more frustrating because I think at this point they really want to move away from this issue and start focusing on their actual overall setup.
“I think it is a bigger problem, they did not manage to solve it and there is a presumed potential in the car, and it has not been released yet.
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George Russell admits that Mercedes still lacks pace compared to Red Bull and Ferrari after training on Friday at the Baku City Circuit
The unpredictability of the high-speed street track in Baku will leave Mercedes hoping to succeed over the weekend, with five races on the track yielding five different seats and five different winners.
However, Russell admitted that hopes of competing with the dominant teams this season - Red Bull and Ferrari - are minimal.
“It simply came to our notice then [Red Bull and Ferrari] “We have a car faster than us and we did everything we could to catch up,” Russell said.
“If we are completely on top of our tires, we will not completely close that gap, they are simply too far ahead. So that [tyres] that’s probably 50 percent of our problem, all that’s left is the lack of performance we have at the moment. “
Despite another disappointing Friday, Hill says that not everything is lost for Mercedes, but he insists that the team of Toto Wolf must soon come to a clear purpose.
“The season is never a write-off,” he added. “You have a lot of races ahead of you and a lot of time, but they have to find a way.”
Full schedule Ski Sports F1
Saturday
10:20: F2 sprint
11:45: Third practice
14:00: Qualifications
Sunday
8:30: F2 Played Race
10:30: Grand Prix Sunday: Azerbaijan
12:00: GRAND PRIZE OF AZERBAIJAN
14:00: Plaid flag: Azerbaijan
15:30: The most important parts of the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan