Lewis Hamilton hails the best start to a race weekend in 2024: “The best sensations that the W15 gave me”

Lewis Hamilton is pleased with his strong start to the 2024 F1 season at the Japanese Grand Prix.

He has been facing challenges trying to compete with the top teams and drivers this season.   So far, in the first three races, he has not been able to finish higher than seventh place.  

During the Australian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion experienced an engine failure and did not earn any points.   

Lewis Hamilton had a successful start to the Japanese GP on Friday, with impressive practice sessions.  

During the first practice session, he completed 23 laps and secured the fifth position in the timing sheet.  

Due to rain disrupting the second session, he only managed to do six laps but still achieved the second fastest lap time.  

Hamilton shared his enthusiasm for the team’s performance in the first two practice sessions, particularly enjoying driving the Mercedes W15 for the first time this season.  

The British driver expressed his excitement about competing at Suzuka. 

He said:

“It was an excellent session for us, the best we have done this year, and with the best sensations that the W15 gave me. It’s been absolutely positive for me, and I’m really excited because Suzuka is a circuit that I really like, and in recent years I’ve always struggled to find the balance with a difficult car to drive.”

Lewis Hamilton calls his start to the 2024 F1 season the ‘worst’ of his career.

Lewis Hamilton has mentioned that the beginning of the 2024 F1 season has been his worst since he first joined F1. The seven-time world champion has experienced success in the single-seater series for quite some time.  

In 2008, he won his first world championship just a year after entering the sport with McLaren. When he switched to Mercedes, he embarked on a dominant era, clinching six titles from 2014 to 2020, with the exception of 2016. Yet, in the 2024 F1 season, Lewis Hamilton failed to perform well in the first three races.   Following his retirement from the Australian GP due to engine trouble, he informed the media present at the event that the start of the 2024 season was his worst.  

The Mercedes driver went on to say that it was even worse than his experiences in 2022, 2023, and even 2009.   

“This is the worst beginning of the season I have ever experienced,” Hamilton expressed.   He also compared it to 2009, stating it is even worse than that year.  
As they head into Japan, Hamilton finds himself below Lance Stroll from Aston Martin in 10th place in the drivers’ championship standings.   He has only accumulated eight points so far. 

“This is the worst season start of the season I’ve ever had….Oh yeah, for sure. And it’s worse than 2009, I think,” Hamilton said.

Coming into Japan, Hamilton is below Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll at P10 in the drivers’ championship table and only has eight points in his pocket.