Lewis Hamilton woes at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix leave Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff “fed up”
Lewis Hamilton warned of a tough qualifying session ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he was right, finishing fourth on the grid alongside Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Toto Wolff said he was “tired” of disappointing qualifying results after Lewis Hamilton struggled again at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion warned after practice on Friday that it would be difficult to reach the third quarter. And he was right, as he finished 11th on the grid, judged by teammate George Russell.
Junior Britton took over on fourth down in the third quarter. But that was not enough to lift the spirits of Mercedes boss Wolff, who is delighted that the 2023 season is soon over.
“I would say FP3 is overwhelming. [Lando] Norris would probably have been there and it would have happened in qualifying as well, he told Sky Sports. – It is not synchronized. Maybe it was in the car. Hopes were high. “I’m tired of getting comments about why it was bad. We were good in the heat but not in the cold.” [It was] once the exact opposite. “This is the last qualifying round of the season and we are excited to drive the new car.”
If anything, Mercedes was put in a stronger position by Russell. The Brit coughed and announced in an interview after the session that he had achieved good results despite the illness.
“I’ve been so sick the last few weeks and it’s been so fast I don’t know if I’m going to get sick more often or what,” she joked. \”But for the last two weeks I\’ve felt super comfortable in the car. I\’ve had on average about three hours of sleep per night – maybe that\’s the secret everyone has been missing!
\”Mixed feelings right now. I could have finished 4th before the weekend, but after this morning’s race I was fastest every lap. I only improved 6/10 between practice and prelims.
“Because the weather was colder and the car had a lot less fuel, we couldn’t make the jumps we needed to make. It was a little disappointing. Among the constructors, they are fighting against Ferrari, but they are treating it like any other race. “I want to fight for the podium, I want to finish the season on a high. Carlos [Sainz] in Group 16 is in a difficult position, but as I said, we will treat it as a normal race and McLaren and Charles ( Leclerc) will have a good pace. “I think he will come out, so we will keep an eye on him.”
