A disappointed Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes “underperformed as a team” during qualifying at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
For the first time since Japan 2012, both Silver Arrows were knocked out before Q3 with George Russell 11th and Hamilton, who only avoided elimination in Q1 by 0.004s, 13th.
Though rain during a Q2 red flag denied both drivers the chance to improve on their first run, the top 10 never really looked a realistic prospect, particularly for the seven-time world champion.
“It wasn’t a great session, naturally it’s disappointing,” he said cutting a dejected figure in the paddock.
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“[You] come here with optimism and you know everyone is working really hard at the factory, and things just don’t come together.
“It’s disappointing. I think we underperformed as a team today. There are things that we should have done that we didn’t do.”
Mercedes though are hoping that their usually stronger race pace can help them recover with a 21-lap Sprint on Saturday before the 63-lap Grand Prix on Sunday at Imola.
“We’ll work as hard as we can to move up in the sprint race,” Hamilton added. “It’s going to be a difficult race, but hopefully tomorrow is better weather-wise, and who knows, maybe we’ll move our way forwards.
“We’ll just keep working hard. Each weekend is a rescue.”
Discussion Wolff-Hamilton. #Quali #ImolaGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/umahvLLZB3
— Au Rupteur (@AuRupteur) April 22, 2022
When Hamilton stepped out of the car, he was seen talking to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff in the garage.
“It’s all internal stuff, I’d rather not share that,” he replied when asked what was said. We’ll just keep working. It is what it is.”
As for teammate Russell, he was somewhat downbeat on Mercedes’ chances of coming back through the field.
“It’s going to be a bit tricky going into the race tomorrow,” he said.
Far from where we wanted to be in Quali but the Sprint gives us another shot tomorrow. Work to do now to make the most of our opportunities. pic.twitter.com/DdJ0LF9IKv
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) April 22, 2022
“Usually in these sprint races, not so much happens. It’ll be interesting with these new cars if we can follow a bit closer.
“But I don’t think there’s enough laps with enough degradation for us to take our advantage where we’re generally stronger compared to our current rivals, which this weekend aren’t the top two teams.
“So let’s see what we can do. We’ve got Sunday as well. [We] can only go up.”