After the practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton was pessimistic about the qualifying session, but a day later, that pessimism has turned into optimism. In fact, the seven-time world champion is fully focused on winning the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. Throughout the entire qualifying session, the Mercedes driver showed great competitiveness, which has given him confidence. Hamilton had a minor incident with his teammate George Russell in Q2, but he states that it was simply a miscommunication.
Hamilton stated after the free practice sessions that it would be difficult to make it to Q3 in qualifying, but a day later, he retracts his words. "It's interesting because during the session, I was thinking, 'Oh yeah, yesterday I said I wouldn't make it to Q3,'" he says in an interview with F1TV. "It's been a really great session. It's very encouraging to be this competitive. I couldn't believe I was fighting for a top-three position. Unfortunately, my final lap wasn't perfect. I was actually on track for P2 until I made a mistake in turn ten, which cost me two tenths."
That mistake ultimately resulted in Hamilton settling for fifth place, but nevertheless, the Mercedes driver believes in a good result in the race. "On the one hand, I'm disappointed, but on the other hand, I'm happy that we are competitive. The team has done a great job improving the car, and we will do our best tomorrow to obtain a better result. My goal is to win tomorrow. And I'm going all out to achieve that goal," says Hamilton.
Incident with Russell was miscommunication
Both Mercedes drivers, Hamilton and Russell, had a tense moment at the end of Q2. Russell did not see his teammate when Hamilton attempted to overtake him on the straight. Hamilton briefly went onto the grass with two wheels but managed to maintain control of the W14. The seven-time world champion holds no ill feelings towards his younger teammate.
"I think it was just a miscommunication. I was starting my lap, and it looked like George (Russell, ed.) was going into the pits because he was so far towards the inside of the track coming out of Turn 13, but then he came back out. He started his lap very slowly, so I thought maybe I would get a slipstream. Then he moved aside, so I continued with my lap. I think it was just a miscommunication, nothing more," Hamilton explained during an interview with Viaplay.
Verstappen the outspoken favorite after his pole position! If you play responsibly, you'll keep it fun. What does gambling cost you? Stop in time, 18+
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