This year, Lewis Hamilton has been consistently outpaced by Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton has revealed that his qualifying troubles during the 2024 Formula One season are “simply due to tyres.”
Hamilton has been outqualified by teammate George Russell nine times in the first eleven rounds of the season.
This is Hamilton’s penultimate season with Mercedes before moving to Ferrari in 2025, when he will partner Charles Leclerc.
Despite having only 13 races remaining in Mercedes colors, Hamilton insists he is working hard to resolve his troubles over one lap.
“A huge amount of analysis, requesting a lot of information from the team, on how we can improve where we are lacking,” Hamilton told RacingNews365.
“It’s just tyres, so we’re just working on improving our methods session after session.
“Typically, once we get to qualifying, things alter slightly. The car is definitely lighter, and you spend much more time in the DRS.
“Time will tell. But I believe we have cracked something. Now we’ll try to build on it.”
Mercedes form provides a morale boost
Hamilton earned his first podium of the season in Spain last month, finishing third.
Mercedes has taken a significant stride forward in recent weeks after a slow start to the season, with Hamilton claiming that the improved performance has boosted morale within the Brackley-based team.
“I believe the entire team is, not necessarily on a high, but there is a tremendous enthusiasm inside the team knowing that we now have the direction that we need to be working towards.
“The plant, in particular, has regained its vigor; individuals there have a new lease on life.
“For me, it feels great to be back in a competitive position.
“[We] just want to work on continuing it. Don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, that’s for sure.”
