Following a qualifying session that saw Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes P5 on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix, the 7-time world champion was mystified by the pace of pole sitter Max Verstappen through the high speed sections of the final sector, as well as turn 6.
Hamilton echoed comments made by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who claimed they were around a tenth down on the Red Bull driver through each of the high speed corners.
“It’s insane how much faster they are in the high speed.
“We’re down a lot in the high speed compared to Max, like a lot… I think they’re about 12-13k faster.”
Where the Ferrari drivers found their saving grace in the slow speed corners, Hamilton was less optimistic about the performance of his own car in which he has been struggling with a lack of downforce.
The 39-year-old was not so cavalier when asked about whether he had to make any compromises like the Ferrari’s did in high speed performance to be effective in the low speed.
“No, we just don’t have enough downforce. We haven’t made any compromises, that’s all we’ve got.”
Although Mercedes has taken a good leap forward in performance over recent races, they still over five tenths off of pole position in Austria.
The Brit has been frustrated for the last few seasons of the cars habit of feeling good on a Friday during free practice sessions, only for him to find himself off the pace when it comes down to it on qualifying day, as others around him find performance.
“We always seem to be quick in P1 and in practice.
“We’re always fast, I don’t know if it’s fuel or if it’s engine strategy that we use and the others don’t use, and then everyone else gets faster and we don’t, and that’s just how it goes.”
Hamilton was still baffled when asked where his team will need to work on in the development of their current car, candidly admitting he wasn’t sure how to close the gap to the front.
“I don’t know the answer, I honestly don’t know the answer. If I could take a piece of downforce and chuck it on the back I would, but that’s not how it goes.”
