Lewis Hamilton faced a challenging qualifying session at the Dutch Grand Prix, finishing in twelfth place. The seven-time world champion expressed his frustration over several incidents that hindered his performance on the track.
Hamilton's difficulties began with an encounter involving Sergio Perez, which he felt disrupted his flow. He acknowledged that the session spiraled downward from that point while speaking during the Sky Sports F1 broadcast following the session. He qualified in twelfth position there, so the British driver said:
"It was a pretty shocking session. These things happen and it's done now but it doesn't feel good.
"It all went badly from the moment with Perez happened. I did my best to get out of the way, I was far to the left as possible, but timing was bad.
"It was a domino effect, it went from bad to worse."
Despite making adjustments to his car overnight, Hamilton struggled with balance issues, switching from understeer to a car that felt overly responsive.
Hamilton also said to the rest of the media, as quoted by Motorsport Week :
“[It was] not ideal.
“We made changes overnight and we couldn’t see [what impact that had] in P3, but it’s the same for everybody. We changed the car quite a lot and it was a nightmare today.
“The car was massively snappy today. Yesterday was a lot of understeer and then we tried to dial that out and went more the other way.”
Adding to his troubles, Hamilton has been called to meet with the stewards regarding the potential obstruction of Perez during Q1. The outcome of this review could result in a grid penalty for the upcoming race in Zandvoort.
In contrast, Lando Norris claimed pole position, with Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri starting second and third, respectively.
Hamilton's teammate, George Russell, qualified fourth and noted the unpredictable nature of the session, emphasizing how changing conditions affected car performance.
"I am pretty happy. I think it's a fair result - but it swung so much during the session.
"I went out and hand no grip, was really struggling, and then I was the same pace as the McLarens before it went away from me in Q3.
"The balance of the car is totally dictated by the conditions. A shift in wind direction can transform the balance. You have to be so adaptable."
Currently, Hamilton sits sixth in the Drivers' Standings with 150 points, trailing Carlos Sainz in fifth with 162 points. Russell is in eighth place with 116 points. Mercedes holds fourth in the Constructors' Standings with 266 points, while Red Bull leads the championship with 408 points, followed by McLaren and Ferrari.
2024 Dutch GP Qualifying Results:
1. Lando Norris
2. Max Verstappen
3. Oscar Piastri
4. George Russell
5. Sergio Perez
6. Charles Leclerc
7. Fernando Alonso
8. Alex Albon
9. Lance Stroll
10. Pierre Gasly
11. Carlos Sainz
12. Lewis Hamilton
13. Yuki Tsunoda
14. Nico Hulkenberg
15. Kevin Magnussen
16. Daniel Ricciardo
17. Esteban Ocon
18. Valtteri Bottas
19. Zhou Guanyu
20. Logan Sargeant - No time
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