Mercedes had been lost in the abyss of the car development battle, failing to improve. Since the end of the summer break, the German Marque has been searching for the proper setup to sail them over the finish line. However, the technical team has been clueless about the ongoing issues. Moreover, Hamilton believes the team is more puzzled during the Singapore GP, as the W15 setup appears to be a “little lost.”
Mercedes And Hamilton’s Downhill Battle Continues Despite “Trying Everything”
The Mercedes superstar continued a downhill battle with an off-balance W15. The Briton had a challenging Friday, failing to make an impact during the FP1 and FP2 sessions. He was not even in the top ten list after both the practice sessions. The seven-time world champion explained the problems on the radio to Peter Bonnington. Hamilton revealed the struggle with traction, especially while exiting slow corners. Another significant problem was understeer, which affected his performance.
After the FP2 session, Hamilton opened up about the handful of changes made by the team to his re-liveried car. However, none of them seemed to solve long-existing problems. The efforts went in vain, as the car’s setup was unable to improve the handling. Thus, Hamilton expressed frustration after a challenging run on the Marina Bay city circuit. The Technical crew was adamant about making a change and implemented several tweaks between FP1 and FP2. Unfortunately, it was useless, as the team failed to extract the desired performance. Therefore, Hamilton remarked despite using a wide range of setup changes, it had no visible impact on the problem.
🎙 | Lewis : “I'm hoping if I can drive well tomorrow, at least hold position or try and progress forward…”
— Hamilton Insights (@LH44_insights) September 21, 2024
You can do it Lewis! 🥹🤞✨️💪👊#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬pic.twitter.com/SVpSrB5rKS
The Briton was highly disappointed as he admitted the team is clueless about the direction of its development. Given the current form, Hamilton is uncertain of qualifying for the Q3 on Saturday. However, his FP3 performance saw decent progress, as he could clock the seventh quickest time. However, the ongoing tussles would be a hurdle to overcome if Hamilton wanted a better outcome.
George Russell Makes Progress Despite Locking Up In The Walls
George Russell also had a similar start to the weekend due to the balance issues. During FP2, Russell had an unfortunate incident at turn eight where he locked up and slid into a wall. Due to the low-speed trajectory, only the front wing and nose of the car had slight damage, but the impact wasn’t severe.
Russell also admitted that the car didn’t feel as connected as in previous races. Despite teh improvement from FP1 to FP2, the team was nowhere near the Ferraris and McLarens. However, Russell was optimistic after observing Red Bull and Williams struggle. He feels Mercedes still has a chance to play in the midfield and position itself among the front runners. Further, the Briton had a decent FP3 session, finishing a few seconds behind Lando Norris.