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Mercedes not satisfied: 'Neither driver had a great lap'

Mercedes not satisfied: 'Neither driver had a great lap'

11-11-2022 22:41
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GPblog.com

Qualifying for the sprint in Brazil did not go as hoped for Mercedes. George Russell ended the session in the gravel pit, but managed to secure P3 immediately. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, was unable to improve his time and will have to start the sprint race from eighth position.

Andrew Shovlin speaks of "a tricky qualifying session" in which it was difficult to drive a flawless lap. "We did manage to get through the first two sessions safely although it wasn't as relaxing as we'd have liked," Mercedes' technical director said in a press release.

Mercedes dissatisfied

The final session was all about track position as conditions deteriorated. However, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell failed to park their Mercedes on the front row of the grid. "Neither driver had a great lap in the final session; George was happier with his car than Lewis who was lacking grip on the final run," Shovlin continued.

Nevertheless, the Mercedes chief still sees plenty of opportunities during the sprint race. "We have plenty of racing laps to recover with Lewis and at least he's ahead of both Ferrari and one Red Bull on the grid. The unsettled weather is forecast to continue to that could make for a bit more decision-making during the sprint race than you normally have to do - and that may bring with it more opportunity," Shovlin concluded.