Chinese Grand Prix

Downbeat Hamilton makes BITTER Mercedes points admission

Sheona Mountford Sunday 21 April 2024 18:57 Updated: 21:59

Downbeat Hamilton makes BITTER Mercedes points admission

Lewis Hamilton has provided a deflated response regarding his performance at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The weekend started positive for the Mercedes driver, after an impressive wet weather sprint shootout qualifying which saw him take P2.

Buoyed by his sudden competitiveness, he overtook Lando Norris for P1 in the sprint itself and led for the first nine laps.

Later, however, the British driver suffered his worst qualifying session since Saudi Arabia in 2022, where he failed to make Q2.

Lewis Hamilton finished second in the sprint race

Lewis Hamilton failed to get out of Q1 in qualifying

A weekend to forget for Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton started P18 in the race, but failed to make gains on the soft tyre and was stuck behind Esteban Ocon until a VSC was deployed.

The safety car freed Hamilton to pit for hard tyres, where he managed to make it into the points and finish ninth overall.

Hamilton scraping for points is a far cry from competing for race wins and podiums, and it was jarring to hear him say he was 'grateful' for P9.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described today's performance 'not good enough' and looked forward to the Miami GP where they will bring upgrades.

"I'm grateful to get into the points. I didn't expect a lot more this weekend," Hamilton said to Sky Sports F1.

"Hopefully we have a step forward coming at the next race. Until then, we will be back at the factory next week and try and position the car better for Miami and have a better weekend."

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes FIA Lando Norris Chinese Grand Prix Saudi Arabia

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