Analysis | How Russell dominated Hamilton in Saudi Arabian qualifying

The battle between new Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell was one of the most highly anticipated aspects of the new season. It turns out that battle isn’t currently at the front of the grid, though there is hope inside the Mercedes camp that they will be able to close the gap once the porpoising issue is solved.

Hamilton had to be there at the right time to take advantage of Red Bull’s double DNF in Bahrain, but it can be classed as a lucky podium and thus lucky 15 points. Despite this, Russell has the advantage over Hamilton in the World Championship after the opening two rounds. Hard conclusions can’t be drawn at this stage, but a massive swing in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix can’t be ignored. 

For the first time in his Mercedes career, Hamilton failed to escape Q1 on pure pace and got dominated during a Grand Prix weekend. Team boss Toto Wolff called it a failed experience on Hamilton’s car as to the reason behind his poor result. 

Without a doubt, Hamilton has more experience in Formula 1 compared to Russell. However, it’s been a long time since Hamilton drove an underperforming car that he is not comfortable with. On the other hand, Russell has been parked at the back of the grid for his three years at Williams, with a car very difficult to drive. The Jeddah circuit requires high confidence. As a driver, you have to back yourself to get the best lap time out of the car. Hamilton has rarely been in that situation. Russell’s more recent experience in that position could be worth a couple more tenths as he knows how to battle an unsteady, underperforming car. 

Hamilton Q1 v Russell Q3 

Down the home straight, Hamilton actually carried slightly more speed than Russell. But the younger driver was able to brake slightly later, thus closing any delta Hamilton had gained down the home straight. 

At the fourth braking zone, Russell was able to hold much more speed and apply more power earlier. And at the penultimate braking zone, Russell applied the brakes much earlier and left the brakes much earlier. He had much better traction and control of the car compared to Hamilton. During that corner, there was a 15km/h delta. 

This seems to be a track-specific, set-up specific deficit. There are no indications that this will happen frequently.