Mercedes has shown its best pace of the season in the past two rounds, but Lewis Hamilton has some concerns.
Lewis Hamilton criticized the W14’s unpredictability after a difficult start to the weekend at the Mexican Grand Prix on Friday.. The seven-time world champion struggled to find his rhythm in the first two practice sessions in Mexico..
Hamilton was just 11th on the timing tower when the checkered flag waved at the end of FP1 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Friday, improving slightly to finish P7 at the end of FP2.
Silver Arrows will be looking to get good results with both cars on Sunday after Hamilton crashed on the first lap and retired in Qatar with a disqualification for breaching technical regulations at the Circuit of the Americas last weekend..
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after Friday’s race, Hamilton said: “The car was different day and night than last week.. I really don’t know what to say. You never know what you’ll get with this one. Some days she’s great and some days she’s not.. I hope that overnight we can find something and tomorrow maybe the car will be easier to drive.”
It will be a worrying start to the weekend for Mercedes after teammate George Russell predicts ahead of Friday’s race that the Mexican GP circuit will match the W14’s strengths and that they will show improved pace since the trip to Austin.
Hamilton then highlighted the W14’s inconsistent performance when asked if the team would improve ahead of qualifying on Saturday.. He replied:
“I’m not sure.. Again, you never know what will happen with this car.. Maybe we will make changes and speed things up.
“I think there are definitely some performances there to get closer to being in the top three, but we have to find [ways] to make it easier for us to get to that performance .. So that’s what we’ll be working on.”
His teammate Russell was also disappointed, explaining: “It’s frustrating to have a negative car and it’s not a good day but through these difficult times, you will probably learn more.. only if the car is in a better place.