Lewis Hamilton had never qualified below second for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but after finishing seventh on the grid on Saturday, the seven-time champion could not help but look back on the order.
Hamilton finished 7th ahead of his teammate George Russell’s 5th, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took pole position, with no team other than Red Bull being one second behind the Monegasque driver. . As a result, the Briton made a clear assessment of his team’s position in Baku.
READ MORE: Leclerc arrives at the Baku pole while Pérez joins him in the front row in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix standings
“We’re not even competing with these guys up front, they’re in a completely different league,” Hamilton said. “So it looks like these guys are miles ahead, and then there’s this group we’re in. I don’t think [today was] damage limitation. I guess you could say George is pole and I’m third and this is the real race. “
Russell has finished fifth or better in all 2022 races so far
As for Russell, the 24-year-old could continue on Sunday with his top-five streak from 2022 and described his qualifying performance as a consolation on a difficult day for the Silver Arrows.
“They’re not easy beasts to control. We’re doing our best to learn more and take some steps forward, but it seems like it’s a little harder right now than we’d like. But we’re working as hard as we can to get over it and find it. more performance.
“So, speaking of today, P5, that’s the maximum, so it’s a favorable coating.”
FACTS AND STATISTICS: Leclerc is the first to take several sticks in Baku, while eclipsing the P1 account of Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari and Red Bull are “in a different league” in Baku
As for Mercedes team leader Toto Wolff, the Austrian admitted that looking at the data after the classification had been a painful read.
READ MORE: “I just want to finish the job”: Leclerc finally seeks to capitalize from the pole in Azerbaijan
“I think the position was to wait for the third fastest on the road,” said Wolff, whose two riders were split by Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri. “So, in terms of position [it’s as expected] but the gap is big. The difference is big, it’s a long lap time and we miss it almost everywhere, so I wish I didn’t have to look at this kind of [data] overlaps in the future “.