Lewis Hamilton says that Mercedes must accept the reality that their W15 car is simply off the pace .
After a disappointing qualifying result for Friday’s sprint race in Miami, with neither Hamilton nor team-mate George Russell making it into SQ3, the seven-time world champion explained that there were no extenuating circumstances for what happened.
Instead, he says being more than half a second behind pole position is a true reflection of Mercedes’ current position in F1.
“I feel like we got everything out of the car,” said Hamilton, who starts Saturday’s sprint in 12th place, one place behind Russell.
“And that’s just our pace. You know, we have to accept it for a moment that we are seven tenths behind.”
Hamilton said that while the first practice in Miami went well as Mercedes looked competitive, the pace simply dropped in qualifying.
“The car felt very good in the 1st practice,” he explains, “And then in the 2nd, I think it wasn’t terrible, it was only seven tenths lower. It’s simply the pace of our car.”
“I think the sprint race will be difficult, I’m in 12th place. So don’t expect a huge level from there, to be honest.”
“The track is not an easy track to overtake or follow. So I’m just going to try to somehow get into the points, if I can.”
