A frustrated Lewis Hamilton played down the importance of the sprint race on Saturday after Mercedes’ dismal qualifying session in Austria. F1 bosses have increased the number of sprint weekends in 2023, giving fans more white-knuckle action to sink their teeth into over the course of the season.
Hamilton was expected to make his mark towards the top of the field in sprint qualifying after securing P5 on the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix. However, a fast and furious SQ1 left the seven-time world champion in an unfortunate position.
With the track drying out and lap times continually improving, Hamilton had a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits and then found himself in traffic on his final flying lap, which saw him bail into the pits before the finish line.
Ending up a dismal P18, where he will start the sprint race later on Saturday, Hamilton pulled no punches when asked about his disappointing result.
“The timing wasn’t right,” he told Sky Sports. “The sprint race doesn’t really matter anyway. I’ll just have some fun from the back. It is what it is. I don’t really feel anything about it.
“I wish I was still out there but not today. There’s nothing really to say, we’ll focus on our job today. We could easily have been much further up there but I’ll just have some fun at the back.”
Stating that the sprint race ‘does not really matter’ is unlikely to sit well with senior F1 figures, considering Austria is hosting only the second sprint weekend of the 2023 season following their increased use of the format.
Minutes earlier, Hamilton took out his frustration over the team radio, where he called out ‘really bad tyre usage’. The 38-year-old, considered by many to be the greatest F1 driver of all time, had not been knocked out of a Q1 session since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last year.
Mercedes’ woes at the Red Bull Ring didn’t stop there, either, as George Russell had a hydraulics issue which left him unable to put in a single lap time in SQ2. The former Williams ace will start the sprint in 15th as a result.
Red Bull were once again dominant in sprint qualifying as reigning double world champion Max Verstappen took top spot to supplement the pole position he had already banked for Sunday’s main event.
Sergio Perez took second in sprint qualifying with Lando Norris third, while fourth-place Nico Hulkenberg led an impressive performance for Haas, who got both cars through to the final session.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
