Lewis Hamilton shocked to finish fastest on ‘crazy Thursday’ in Bahrain

By Sports Desk February 29, 2024

Lewis Hamilton admitted he was shocked to finish fastest in practice for Saturday’s Formula One curtain raiser in Bahrain.

The seven-time world champion has not won a race for more than two years, but he led a surprise Mercedes one-two under the lights of the Sakhir Circuit on Thursday night.

Hamilton finished two tenths clear of team-mate George Russell, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third.

On yet another explosive off-track day for Red Bull, Max Verstappen bemoaned the handling of his machine. He finished sixth.

The Silver Arrows went under the radar at last week’s test in the Gulf kingdom, but they were quietly optimistic heading into Thursday’s running – and the second session belonged to the team that once dominated the sport.

“This has been a crazy Thursday,” said Hamilton, 39. “I don’t understand it, and it is a shock to see us where we are, but we will take it for now.

“We cannot get ahead of ourselves. We need to keep our head down and keep working on the setup.

“But I am much happier with the car. I have a better feel of it approaching the corners, and there are other areas that have been fixed and improved.

“It feels like a race car and the last two cars didn’t feel like that. It is a really good platform to work from. We have to keep our heads down and keep on chasing.”

Hamilton is gearing up for his final season with Mercedes after he elected to terminate his £100million deal 12 months early to join Ferrari in 2025.

Mercedes have carried Hamilton to six of his record-equalling seven titles. But last year marked a second straight season without a victory for the British driver – a losing streak which now stands at 45 races – and Mercedes’ first winless campaign in a dozen years.

However, Hamilton, in his radically revised car – after the design concept which failed so spectacularly for the past two seasons was abandoned – will take faith from an encouraging day.

But Hamilton expects Verstappen, who has raced to the past three world championships, will still be the one to beat.

“I think we are going to be in the mix,” added Hamilton. “We are there or thereabouts with Ferrari and maybe Aston Martin and McLaren.

“It is going to be close, but if Max is out in front he will drive off as he has done for the past couple of years.”

Verstappen had been regarded as the heavy favourite heading into Saturday’s curtain-raiser in the Gulf kingdom.

But he struggled in the first running and then failed to match the speed of the Mercedes cars later in the day.

“Everything is s***,” yelled Verstappen over the radio. “Like miles off.”

However, the 26-year-old remained confident he would be in a strong position for the 57-lap Grand Prix.

“It is very close and maybe some people around us have turned up the engine in terms of top speed,” he said.

“I’m not too worried about the gap to first, for example. It is going to be close in qualifying. I was happier about the long run for the race.”

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    He made early exits in both qualifying sessions and started the race at Interlagos from 15th on the grid.

    However, unlike Max Verstappen, who impressively won the race having started in 17th, the Brit struggled to mount much of a fight, coming away from the weekend with just one point after finishing in 10th.

    His performance was made to look worse as team-mate George Russell had been battling for the lead but narrowly missed out on a podium place as he finished fourth.

    Hamilton only has three races left with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari next season, bringing an end to their 12-year partnership.

    But he was left frustrated in Brazil, expressing his disappointment with the car.

    "We were just slow," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "The car was really, really tough. I do really want to say still a big thank you to the guys in the garage. They turned up super early this morning and still did a great job throughout the weekend.

    "The team could have won also, so at least one car was behaving a lot better.

    "The car is like a plank of wood. It's like no suspension.

    "It's bouncing on the tyres everywhere, and you can't get on the power anywhere. It's just the worst ride, I think the worst ride that we've definitely ever had, particularly through corners. It's just so stiff.

    "But hopefully we won't have any more bumpy tracks. I think the last three aren't so bumpy. But yeah, I could happily go and take a holiday."

  • Norris claims Verstappen 'got lucky' in Brazil as title hopes fade Norris claims Verstappen 'got lucky' in Brazil as title hopes fade

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    Verstappen surged to a terrific victory from 17th on the grid in Brazil, with Norris faltering after starting on pole.

    Norris and Mercedes' George Russell – who were vying for the lead – both pitted on lap 29, but that strategy backfired as the red flag was shown following a crash involving Franco Colapinto.

    With the race suspended, Verstappen was also able to change tires for the restart, negating Norris' advantage from pitting as the world champion raced to a commanding victory.

    Norris had cut Verstappen's drivers' championship lead to 44 points by winning Saturday's sprint race but now sits 62 points adrift with just three races of the season remaining. 

    The Brit refused to hit out at McLaren's strategy after the race, though, putting his struggles down to bad luck. 

    "I have faith in the team in what they are saying and they have trust in me," he told Sky Sports F1. 

     

    "It was just unlucky. I don't care about the hindsight side of things, that's luck for them, nothing more.

    "They got lucky on a rule that no one agrees with. Probably they agreed with it today but every driver has disagreed with it in the past.

    "Today it benefitted them, it could have benefitted us if we just stayed out, but that's a stupid thing to think of. 

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    Max Verstappen revealed he wanted to destroy the Red Bull garage in the hours before he delivered a wet-weather performance for the ages to win the Brazilian Grand Prix.

    Verstappen had been left frustrated after Sunday's delayed qualifying session, when a crash by Lance Stroll and subsequent red flag saw him drop out of Q2.

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    “My emotions were all over the place, from wanting to destroy the garage (after qualifying) to winning the race,” said Verstappen. “It has been a roller coaster.

    “It is unbelievable to win here from so far back on the grid. I was expecting to lose points in the championship.

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    A rain-affected race saw several incidents, with Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto and Carlos Sainz all failing to finish the race.

    But Verstappen remained calm in those conditions, snapping his 10-race winless streak, while also becoming the first driver since Kimi Raikkonen at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2005 to emerge victorious after gaining 16 positions.

    And the three-time world champion believed his latest win, which was his 62nd in the competition, was his best one to date. 

    “The rain came, we stayed out, which was very sketchy, and I had to just keep the car on track,” continued Verstappen.

    “It was undriveable in the conditions. I felt like I was driving a boat, or a jet-ski.

    “There was a lot at stake because I had to be aware of the championship, so for me this is the best one (victory).

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    Verstappen is now 62 points clear of Norris in the drivers' championship with just 86 points remaining, and can win a fourth consecutive drivers' title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

    However, he insisted that the season was far from over, acknowledging he must remain perfect in the final three races to get over the line after an up and down season.

    “Now it’s of course a great result, which if you look a few hours ago, was definitely the other way around, looking like we were going to lose a lot of points," he said. 

    “So I’m very happy, but still three tough races [to go], so we just need to stay calm and make no mistakes.

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